ICE Detainees Used Facility Video Software to Reveal Detention Abuses
Folkston ICE detainees used facility video calls to expose detention abuses and court system flaws.
Why it matters: This story spotlights legal and compliance issues in immigration detention and enforcement technology use, relevant to legal teams and litigators handling immigration and regulatory risk.
- On October 8, 2026, four detainees recorded a video using the Folkston ICE Processing Center's video conferencing software to expose facility conditions and criticize the immigration court system under Trump.
- The Folkston facility, run by The GEO Group, holds about 2,200 detainees and has faced federal scrutiny since 2018.
- In July 2025, federal inspectors found violations including solitary confinement of hunger strikers and poor access to religious services.
- On October 7, 2026, at least 73 detainees began a hunger strike protesting prolonged detention and facility conditions.
On October 8, 2026, four men detained at Georgia's Folkston ICE Processing Center used the facility's own video conferencing software to release a five-minute video exposing harsh detention conditions and criticizing the immigration court system as "intentionally dysfunctional." The men, including Idris Makhmudov who called themselves "immigrants who remain detained by ICE without cause or justification," aimed to draw public attention to issues inside the facility according to The Verge.
The Folkston ICE Processing Center, operated by The GEO Group since 2018, has a capacity of approximately 2,200 beds. It has been under scrutiny after federal inspections in July 2025 uncovered violations including the use of solitary confinement against detainees who were hunger striking and inadequate access to religious services as reported by GPB News.
This video surfaced just one day after at least 73 detainees at Folkston initiated a hunger strike to protest prolonged detention and facility conditions according to The Guardian. The detainees criticized the immigration court system under former President Donald Trump as being designed to keep immigrants in federal custody indefinitely. Mujtaba Qeyami, another detainee featured in the video, said, "We have become political prisoners just because we are immigrants."
This incident raises legal and compliance questions about detainee treatment, detention standards, and the role of technology like video conferencing software in immigration enforcement settings. Legal practitioners advising on immigration detention or representing detainees should monitor developments closely.
By the numbers:
- 2,200 beds — capacity of the Folkston ICE Processing Center
- 73 detainees — number who initiated a hunger strike on October 7, 2026
- July 2025 — date federal inspectors reported violations at Folkston