#38 ¿Que pasó? with Señor B - week of 12/15

A recent report by Amnesty International has pulled back the curtain on the reality of Florida’s immigration detention centers, and the details are a reminder of the systemic dehumanization occurring within our borders. While many of us already knew the conditions were bad, seeing the specific evidence laid out makes the reality impossible to ignore.

The report describes state-run facilities as a landscape of basic neglect, where human beings are denied the most fundamental necessities. Detainees are forced into unsanitary living conditions with limited access to showers, a total lack of privacy, and food and water of such poor quality that it barely sustains them. Perhaps most disturbing is the use of "outdoor boxes"; tiny, isolated structures used for punishment that feel more like something out of a dark chapter of history than a modern-day facility.

Even more unbelievable is that private facilities are reportedly even more terrible. In these centers, the neglect turns into active cruelty. The report outlines instances of guards physically assaulting detainees, the continuous neglect of urgent medical needs, and the withholding of food and water as a tactic of control. Beyond the physical toll, there is a psychological one, as detainees are subjected to regular and systematic humiliation.

To those who argue that these centers are not meant to be pleasant, we must consider the fundamental legal and moral reality at play: many of those being held in these conditions have not been convicted of any crime. We are witnessing the state-sponsored mistreatment of human beings who are often simply seeking a better life. Hearing these details, it becomes increasingly difficult to believe that this is how our country continues to treat people. It is a crisis of conscience that demands we look closer at what is being done in our name.

It is one thing to read a report, but it is another to see the reality in motion. In a recent video circulating online, we see a woman being racially profiled in a parking lot by agents who appear less interested in the law and more focused on intimidation. They pepper her with questions like “were you born here?” and “what country are you from?”… questions designed to instill fear and assert dominance. This incident isn't an outlier; this administration has made it clear that it will continue to conduct sweeping ICE raids with little to no legal oversight.

In this environment, hope is not a strategy: preparation is. It is more important than ever to have a concrete emergency plan in place for yourself, your family, or anyone you know who might be at risk of detention.

One of the most effective tools currently available is the free app ReadyNow!. Designed specifically for these moments of crisis, the app allows you to create a secure emergency plan and access vital legal support resources. If you are detained, the app enables you to quickly alert your pre-selected contacts so they can take immediate action on your behalf.

Security is a primary feature: all data is encrypted, and for your protection, the app can erase your information instantly if your phone is taken from you. Preparation is a form of resistance. Please take a moment to click on the video below to learn more about how this tool works, and share this resource widely with your community.

Despite the rhetoric coming from the Department of Homeland Security and its most vocal supporters, the narrative being sold to the public is a lie. We are repeatedly told that these operations only target "dangerous criminals" and that U.S. citizens are never caught in the crosshairs. But the data tells a much more haunting story.

Independent reports and congressional investigations have now confirmed that hundreds of U.S. citizens have been wrongfully detained this year alone. These aren't just clerical errors; they are the result of a system that has been unleashed to prioritize volume over due process. Reports indicate that many of these citizens (including children) were dragged from their cars, held without communication for days, and denied access to legal counsel.

The administration continues to claim they are only going after "the worst of the worst," but the facts show that the vast majority of those being "disappeared" into the detention machine have no criminal record at all. In reality, nearly 74% of people currently held in ICE detention have no criminal convictions.

This is the evidence we cannot ignore: this isn't about legality or criminality. When citizens and people with clean records are swept up in parking lots and neighborhood raids, it becomes clear that this is about who is considered "welcome" in this country and who is not. It is a campaign rooted in racism, fueled by inhumane lies, and designed to intimidate entire communities regardless of their status. We must refuse to fall for the propaganda and continue to speak the truth about the lives being destroyed in the process.