A female migrant in mental distress was kept in solitary confinement for a month at a Florida detention center, then mocked and leered at by male guards after they strapped her almost naked to a restraint chair, a federal civil rights complaint alleges.
The reported sexual and mental abuse of the detainee, identified solely as Ana, took place at the Baker county detention facility, a rural camp 30 miles west of Jacksonville with a long history of allegations of mistreatment, harassment, retaliation and cruelty to detainees.
The center is operated by the Baker county sheriff’s office under contract with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (Ice), and currently holds about 250 immigrants. It is expected to expand significantly as part of Donald Trump’s plan to detain and deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
The new complaint, plus a whistleblower disclosure from a nurse practitioner at Baker who said she witnessed systemic abuse and neglect, was filed by an alliance of advocacy groups, including the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Robert F Kennedy Human Rights and the Government Accountability Project.
Among the other allegations are that staff routinely racially and sexually harassed detainees, denied medical care and sanitary products to women, and then falsified records to cover their tracks.
The story of Ana, a 33-year-old victim of human trafficking and domestic violence, was “especially horrific”, the groups said. She was placed in immigration detention in 2023 amid a custody dispute with her husband over their young son.
Ana, who does not speak English, asked for feminine hygiene products while menstruating, and was yelled at and taken to solitary confinement for two days for not complying with commands she did not understand, according to a press release accompanying the complaint.
She said she suffered a mental health episode in a tiny darkened cell after being denied medical treatment for bleeding and vomiting, and damaged a sprinkler in desperation. For that offense, she said, she received an additional 30 days in solitary confinement, during which she had several mental health crises.
In one, she began hitting her head against a wall in distress, and “instead of addressing her mental health emergency, male guards stripped her, strapped her to a restraint chair in a ripped suicide smock that left her breast exposed, and laughed at her”, the statement said.
Baker staff inflicted additional emotional distress during that time by denying her legal counsel, she said, leading her to miss custody hearings for her son, and being told he would be better off without her.
“Ana came to Baker vulnerable and in need, and officers responded with malice and cruelty,” said Sarah Gillman, director of strategic US litigation at RFK Human Rights.
“Her mistreatment at the hands of Baker officials is a clear violation of the law including the Prison Rape Elimination Act and the Rehabilitation Act. More than that, it’s an affront to our most basic, foundational principles of human dignity.”
In September, a report from the homeland security department’s office of the inspector general, following a surprise visit, noted a number of deficiencies at Baker, including violations of use-of-force standards and failing to maintain a log of detainee requests.
The homeland security department’s office for civil rights and civil liberties acknowledged “immediate concerns regarding the health and well-being of persons detained at Baker” in a March letter to the ACLU of Florida.
“We cannot allow a government-run facility to treat people with such deliberate contempt and predatory behavior,” said Amy Godshall, the advocacy group’s legal fellow and immigrants’ rights attorney.
“Baker has let xenophobia and misogyny run rampant at its facility for far too long, and has curated an abusive and unlivable environment for immigrants. It is an affront to human decency, and such state-sanctioned abuse is unacceptable.”
Maxwell Frost, the Democratic Florida representative, who sits on the House oversight committee, said he had witnessed “inhumane” conditions during an unannounced visit to Baker in recent weeks, and wants the facility closed down.
“What I saw was just some of the worst conditions of living I’ve ever seen. They’re not getting enough food, or the food they’re getting is completely disgusting,” he said.
“A lot of women end up getting urinary tract infections because the undergarments they’re given are shared; there are flies and mold. It’s not in accordance with the way the federal government should be running any sort of facility. But also it’s completely inhumane to treat other humans this way.”
Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat and chair of the Senate judiciary committee that received the whistleblower complaint, called for the Government Accountability Office to look into mental health care at Ice detention facilities.
“With the incoming Trump-Vance administration signaling plans for a vengeful campaign targeting migrants and a drastic expansion of detention facilities, we must quickly ensure oversight and accountability,” he said in a statement.
“Real, enforceable measures are necessary to ensure detainees do not face unnecessary harm and suffering.”
In a statement, a spokesperson said Ice “will not comment on litigation proceedings or outcomes”, but insisted that “at no time during detention will a detainee be denied emergent care”.
“US Immigration and Customs and Enforcement is committed to ensuring that all in its custody reside in a safe, secure and humane environment under appropriate conditions of confinement,” the statement said.
“The agency takes allegations of misconduct very seriously – personnel are held to the highest standards of professional and ethical behavior. All allegations of abuse or other misconduct are investigated. If any such allegations are substantiated, appropriate action is taken.”
The spokesperson said Ice encourages the reporting of allegations of misconduct through a toll-free detention reporting and information line.
The Baker county sheriff’s office has not responded to a request for comment.
