Migrants in Crisis in Miami Detention
The Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami which currently houses 1,700 migrants imprisoned by ICE in the national roundup of undocumented workers has been at the center of serious allegations involving overcrowding, abuse, and medical neglect. In order to attract attention to their plight, Cuban migrants formed the letters SOS and appeal to the public.
Who Runs Krome?
Akima Infrastructure Protection (AIP), a subsidiary of Akima LLC, has been contracted to provide services at both Krome and the Migrant Operations Center at Guantánamo Bay. More on Akima below.
Akima, LLC
Akima Infrastructure Protection (AIP) is a subsidiary of Akima, LLC, which is wholly owned by NANA Regional Corporation—an Alaska Native Corporation representing over 15,000 Iñupiat shareholders. This Native Alaskan ownership structure qualifies Akima for certain federal contracting advantages under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program, allowing for sole-source contracts without competitive bidding.
AIP specializes in providing protective services and detention management operations for federal agencies. Their services include access control, armed and unarmed security personnel, base security, and detention management. AIP employs a team of former military, intelligence and law enforcement personnel, to run these operations.
Overcrowding and Unsafe Conditions
Originally designed to house 600 detainees, Krome’s population swelled to nearly 1,700 in early 2025, leading to unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Reports detail lack of food, water, medical care, and basic hygiene, alongside disturbing incidents such as the placement of 40 women in the all-male facility.
Deaths in Custody
At least three detainees have died under ICE custody at Krome since October 2024. One notable case is that of Maksym Chernyak, a 44-year-old Ukrainian man who died after reportedly receiving inadequate medical care for high blood pressure.
Allegations of Abuse
Ricardo Gomes, a 42-year-old gay asylum-seeker from Brazil, alleges that he was subjected to targeted abuse, including being beaten by guards, placed in solitary confinement for 60 days, and denied critical medical care, leading to severe infections that nearly resulted in the amputation of both legs.
Lack of Oversight
In March 2025, the Trump administration shut down three Department of Homeland Security oversight offices responsible for investigating such claims, raising concerns about transparency and accountability.
Cost of Warehousing Migrants
As of June 2025, the specific daily cost per detainee at the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, Florida, is not publicly disclosed. However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reports that the average daily cost of detaining an adult noncitizen across its facilities is approximately $164.65. This figure can vary based on factors such as geographic location, facility type, and length of detention.
Image Credit: Jose Olivares for Democracy Now
Akima’s Other Contract
In August 2024, AIP was awarded a $163.4 million contract by the Department of Homeland Security to operate the Migrant Operations Center at Guantánamo Bay through June 2029. Additionally, AIP secured a potential $685.5 million contract to provide various immigration detention services at the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, Florida.
While AIP has secured significant federal contracts, there have been reports and audits highlighting concerns over conditions and treatment of detainees at some facilities they manage. For example, a federal audit reported incidents of inappropriate use of force at the Krome facility.
On February 5, 2025, the U.S. government conducted its first military deportation flight of migrants to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as part of President Donald Trump’s intensified immigration enforcement strategy.
Detention at Guantánamo Bay
Upon arrival, the detainees were housed in vacant detention facilities separate from those used for war-on-terror detainees. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described Guantánamo Bay as a “perfect place” to temporarily hold such individuals until arrangements could be made for their deportation to their countries of origin.
Program Expansion and Costs – $100,000 per Detainee
Following this initial flight, the Trump administration expanded the program, resulting in approximately 500 migrants being detained at Guantánamo Bay by early March 2025. The operation incurred significant costs, with reports indicating expenditures exceeding $40 million, averaging about $100,000 per detainee per day.
Legal and Humanitarian Concerns
The use of Guantánamo Bay for migrant detention sparked legal challenges and criticism from human rights organizations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed lawsuits alleging that the detentions violated U.S. immigration laws and constitutional protections. Concerns were raised about the conditions of detention and the due process afforded to the detainees.
Responsible Agencies
The operation was a coordinated effort between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD). DHS, under Secretary Kristi Noem, oversaw the identification and processing of the migrants, while DoD, led by Secretary Pete Hegseth, managed the logistics of transportation and detention at Guantánamo Bay.
In response to the increasing detention population, ICE’s detention budget has been a subject of legislative attention.While the current funding stands at $3.4 billion, a GOP-backed bill passed by the House in late May proposes increasing this allocation to $45 billion. This proposed budget aims to expand detention capacity.
For comparison, ICE’s Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs, such as the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP), cost significantly less—averaging around $8.00 per participant per day. These programs offer community-based supervision as an alternative to physical detention.
In summary, while exact per-detainee costs at Krome are not specified, the facility’s overcrowding and the broader context of ICE’s detention expenditures highlight the financial and humanitarian challenges currently faced by the U.S. immigration detention system.
The Real Advantage: SBA 8(a) Exemption for Alaska Native Corporations
Under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, ANCs are granted unique contracting privileges that no other type of company receives—not even other small businesses or tribal entities. Here’s what makes them so powerful:
Sole-Source, No-Competition Contracts
ANCs can be awarded no-bid federal contracts of unlimited size, bypassing the competitive bidding process altogether. Other 8(a) businesses are capped at $4.5 million (services) or $7 million (manufacturing) for sole-source awards, but ANCs have no such limit.
“Super 8(a)” Status
Unlike other 8(a) businesses, ANCs can own multiple subsidiaries like Akima, all of which individually qualify as small businesses. This allows them to bid across agencies and sectors under the small business umbrella while operating as massive conglomerates.
Federal Agencies Are Encouraged to Use ANCs
Because using an ANC checks the box for “small/disadvantaged business utilization goals”, federal agencies are incentivized to hand them contracts quickly to meet annual benchmarks. It’s faster and easier than going through competitive bidding with CoreCivic or GEO Group.
Why Does a Native Alaskan Corporation run Immigration Detention in South Florida?
Even though Akima is owned by an Alaskan corporations, its operations and employees are largely non-Natives and are employed nationwide. The location and deception of a native Alaskan-controlled company doesn’t matter—only the legal classification of the status of the parent company does.
Krome Detention Center is federal (ICE), not state-run, which means it’s subject to federal contracting law—not Florida’s.
ICE frequently uses contract operators for efficiency and flexibility.
Akima and other ANC subsidiaries are preferred tools for ICE and DHS to rapidly secure contracts, scale operations, and avoid public bids—especially for politically sensitive or controversial operations like migrant detention.
Akima Infrastructure Protection’s Other Job – Guantánamo Bay
Migrant deportations from the US occurred on February 4 and February 5, 2025 from Fort Bliss military base. The purpose of these flights was to transfer Venezuelan migrants to Guantanamo Bay in preparation for a larger transfer of 177 detainees from Guantanamo Bay back to Venezuela.
Flight Origin and Deportees
The flight departed from El Paso, Texas, carrying 10 individuals identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which had recently been designated a foreign terrorist organization. These individuals were labeled as “high-threat illegal aliens” and were transported via a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft to the Leeward Airfield at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay.
Contract Details
In August 2024, Akima Infrastructure Protection was awarded a $163.4 million contract by the Department of Homeland Security to operate the Migrant Operations Center at Guantánamo Bay through June 2029.
Services Provided
Under this contract, AIP is responsible for:
Unarmed guard services
Detention management
Transportation
Food services
Mailroom and warehouse operations
Detainee banking and welfare services
Contract oversight management
Provision of trained personnel and necessary equipment
Political Underpinnings
The ANC exemption is baked into federal law since the 1970s under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). However:
Under Trump, ICE detention expansion accelerated, and no-bid contracts ballooned, often favoring entities like Akima because they could execute quickly.
Akima subsidiaries also run logistics and defense support services at military bases, especially under DHS and DOD contracts, both of which grew under Trump.
The Bottom Line
The U.S. government uses ANC-owned contractors like Akima because:
They offer a legal loophole for sole-source contracts.
They count toward minority contracting quotas.
They allow fast deployment with less oversight and transparency.
The location doesn’t matter—only the corporate structure does.
This Native Alaskan-owned company running a South Florida ICE detention center is about exploiting a contracting exemption created decades ago for Alaska Natives but now leveraged nationwide for federal convenience.
Meet the CEO
The President and CEO of Akima, LLC is Bill Monet. He leads a portfolio of over 45 companies and 10,000 employees dedicated to providing services and solutions to the federal government, all in order to create a long-lived asset for more than 15,000 Iñupiat shareholders in the NANA region of Alaska.
Sources:
https://www.aila.org/library/featured-issue-immigration-detention-and-alternatives-to-detention
https://www.aila.org/library/featured-issue-immigration-detention-and-alternatives-to-detention
https://apnews.com/article/7a731a253883b07d08545b34f26354bf
https://prismreports.org/2025/05/07/florida-immigrant-detention-krome/
https://apnews.com/article/7a731a253883b07d08545b34f26354bf
https://apnews.com/article/67a6c798b56ea4b42ee06afcc8c22428
https://www.servingimmigrants.com/krome-detention-center-key-facts-and-information/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/04/24/immigrant-detention-tent-krome-florida/
https://www.commondreams.org/news/guantanamo-bay-immigrants
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/20/guantanamo-migrant-jail-akima-revealed
https://www.akima.com/opcos/aip-federal-protective-service/
https://www.weareceda.org/en/us-cuba-news-brief/usaidfreeze-guantanamo
https://www.afcea.org/sourcebook/details.jsp?cid=55223691
https://www.govconwire.com/s/bill-monet/
https://www.akima.com/opcos/aip-federal-protective-service/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/akima
