Behind reams of barbed wire, in the shadows of watchtowers kept by armed guards, more than 73,000 people are being held in the United States’ biggest immigration detention operation in history.
In buildings which once served as state prisons, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) face allegations of physical abuse, refusing medical care for detainees, and running centres with sewage leaks, pest infestations and inadequate food.
Sami Hamdi, a British journalist and activist held by ICE for 18 days, is considered “one of the lucky ones” following his release at the end of 2025. In San Francisco, he had been waiting to board a plane to Florida when he was approached by ICE agents and told his visa was no longer valid. Despite being born in Lambeth, south London, his requests to fly home to the UK were rejected.
“They weren’t going to let anyone know that he was being detained,” his wife Soumaya Hamdi tells The i Paper.
“We weren’t able to get in touch with him at all until several days after that. He is a British citizen, he was there on a valid visa, not even on an ESTA. It was revoked without his knowledge. Logically speaking, you would expect a functioning democracy, a country like the United States – supposedly a close ally operating under the rule of law – to inform someone if they are revoking their visa.
“He was informed his visa was revoked two days prior – so they deliberately designed it so that he would have stayed illegally without his knowledge.”
ICE’s new powers
Hamdi was kept in a room with up to 90 people in a detention centre in California. At the same time, his family – unaware of his detention – were preparing to meet him for a holiday in New York. “I was packing the suitcases and a friend texted me, ‘is it true that Sami has been detained by ICE?’” Soumaya recalls. “That was the first I heard about it. My heart dropped.”
In the coming days, when he became ill with “extreme pain in the stomach”, he was initially not allowed to see a doctor. When Soumaya first tried to contact Hamdi, an ICE agent took his phone and switched it off.
Donald Trump’s administration has given ICE unprecedented new levels of manpower. In January, 12,000 new officers were recruited – an increase of 120 per cent. There have been proposals to facilitate 100,000 detention centre beds.
In existing centres, Freedom for Immigrants data shows 108 have sanitation and hygiene issues. Ninety-three have faced allegations of abusive behaviour from staff towards detainees, while 121 have inadequate medical services.
The centre in which Hamdi was kept was one example. When he was arrested, he was handcuffed and pushed against a vehicle, being told he had breached immigration laws. However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) suggested that Hamdi, who has been a vocal critic of Israel’s war on Gaza, had been detained for his political views. “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans,” the State Department wrote on X.
“If you have criticised the US administration or a foreign state like Israel, or if you’ve shown any support for Palestinian human rights, you are potentially a target,” says Soumaya. “If you look Muslim, you’re automatically a target, which we already know from the way ICE are conducting themselves, taking people off the streets. They’ve got this policy now of ‘arrest first, detain first, ask questions later.
“We’ve seen people have been detained from their own homes while being indoors. They’ve had armed officers turn up to the house with full-on military gear demanding to detain inhabitants of houses… White US citizens have been shot in broad daylight and killed. So anyone really traveling to the United States in this kind of climate is potentially a target.”
The vast majority of ICE centres are privately owned, so security companies such as CoreCivil and The GEO Group profit from greater detention numbers. Over nearly three weeks in his centre, Sami Hamdi spoke to other detainees with “heartbreaking” stories. Some said they had been abducted following routine visa appointments.
What the Foreign Office advises England’s travelling fans
“Local laws in the US may vary by state. While you are in a state, you are subject to both that state’s laws and national [federal] law. Not following all US state and federal laws can put your visa status and future travel to the US at risk. You are expected to have a copy of your ESTA or Visa and proof of identity with you at all times.”
Since Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, there have been nine deaths from ICE shootings. Some cases like Renee Good, a 37-year-old American woman shot in her car in Minneapolis, have attracted worldwide media attention. Other allegations against ICE agents include using undue force in the shooting of Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a 38-year-old Mexican immigrant who was killed while dropping his children off at school.
Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a refugee from Myanmar, died after being left by the side of the road by Department of Homeland Security officials. Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez was seeking asylum from domestic abuse when her home was raided and she was deported to Colombia – relatives were not allowed to give her deaf six-year-old son his hearing aids.
‘England fans should boycott the World Cup’
Federal officials confirmed last week that there as it stands, ICE agents will not be deployed to World Cup matches specifically, though that is “subject to change”. Civil rights activists have nevertheless voiced fears that ICE agents will be active during the tournament, when large groups from different diasporas will gather to watch the games.
Believing “the World Cup will be a really busy time for ICE,” and in light of her husband’s experiences, Soumaya Hamdi urges fans from England and Scotland to “think twice or three times” before travelling to this summer’s tournament.
“I think they should absolutely boycott it, 110 per cent,” she says.
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“It’s just completely contradictory to any kind of semblance of human rights and humanity in general. It’s unethical at this point to support the World Cup that’s being hosted in a country that treats both foreigners and its own citizens in such brutal, brutal ways that are reminiscent of the militarised police forces we see in Palestine, in the West Bank for example.
“We’re starting to see the way that Palestinians have been treated for the past 70 years is now coming home in the United States. Anyone thinking of travelling to the United States should just completely rethink that decision because your life and your liberty is genuinely at risk.
“Anyone who stands for human rights, who stands for the rule of law and freedom of speech, should be boycotting the United States until we see a change in this behaviour. Because it’s not only a danger to the freedoms of US citizens, or people living in the United States. It is a danger for all of us, all around the world.”
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