FDC Miami
| Location | 33 NE 4th Street, Miami, Florida (downtown) |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Classification | Administrative (all security levels) |
| Capacity | 1,259 (design) |
| Population | approximately 1,380 (2026 snapshot — over capacity) |
| Opened | 1995 |
| Managed by | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
The Federal Detention Center, Miami (FDC Miami, formerly the Metropolitan Detention Center, Miami — the BOP now lists it as FDC Miami, and the MDC name persists colloquially) is an administrative-security federal detention facility at 33 NE 4th Street in downtown Miami, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Not to be confused with FCI Miami, the low-security prison in southwest Miami-Dade. It holds men and women — primarily federal defendants in Southern District of Florida proceedings held by the U.S. Marshals Service, plus a growing ICE detainee population.
FDC Miami runs consistently over its 1,259-person design capacity, and the 2025–26 period put the facility in the news repeatedly: an ICE detainee death, due-process complaints, conditions reporting, and high-profile extradited defendants held in its special housing unit.
Facility
Address: 33 NE 4th Street, Miami, FL 33132. Phone: (305) 577-0010. Opened 1995; administrative security; male and female; about 1,380 held in recent snapshots against 1,259 design capacity.
Who Is Held Here
The core population is pretrial — federal defendants in SDFL proceedings, one of the busiest districts in the country for fraud, narcotics, and gun cases. Since 2025 the facility has also served as an ICE detention site, holding immigration detainees alongside the federal pretrial population.
Conditions and Controversies
In June 2025, Johnny Noviello, a 49-year-old Canadian national, died in ICE custody at the facility; reporting on the autopsy described kidney failure that advocates called preventable. Advocacy groups documented due-process violations — inadequate access to legal documents, legal mail, and counsel — and detainees described crowded, hot conditions with limited outdoor time. A decade earlier, a 2010 incident in which an attorney was barred for wearing an underwire bra went viral and drew national attention to facility security practices.
Historically, a 2005 DOJ report examined staff sexual victimization complaints, and in 2009 Judge Altonaga found the BOP's response 'woefully deficient.'
Notable Cases
The Tate brothers — Andrew and Tristan — were held at FDC Miami in solitary confinement pending UK extradition proceedings in 2026 ('It's not a Marriott,' Andrew Tate told reporters). Ryan Wesley Routh, convicted of attempting to assassinate President Trump, was held here before transfer. Historical detainees include Fat Joe, Scott Rothstein, the 'Barefoot Bandit' Colton Harris-Moore, and Esteban Santiago-Ruiz (Ft. Lauderdale airport shooting).
In the News
- Canadian dies in ICE custody in Florida — Johnny Noviello died at FDC Miami; autopsy pointed to kidney failure. New York Times (June 26, 2025). [1]
- Family of Canadian ICE detainee who died at FDC Miami raises alarms — follow-up reporting on the Noviello death. Globe and Mail (February 2026). [2]
- Due Process Violations at FDC Miami — documented legal-access failures for ICE detainees. Americans for Immigrant Justice (May 29, 2025). [3]
- 'Animals get treated better than this': immigrant detainee speaks out about living conditions at FDC Miami — firsthand conditions accounts. WLRN (July 31, 2026). [4]
- 'Not a Marriott': Tate brothers held in solitary confinement in Miami jail — Tate brothers in FDC Miami solitary pending extradition. AP/US News (August 12, 2026). [5]
Community Discussions
First-person threads from Reddit (r/prison and similar communities) — useful for what the official sources don't say:
- r/Felons — 10 months at FDC Miami firsthand — assaults, suicides, conditions from a former detainee
- r/OnTheBlock — FDC Miami overcrowding discussion — staff-side view of overcrowding's effects
- r/Miami — friend detained by ICE transferred to FDC Miami — ICE-transfer experiences
Notable Detainees and Residents
- Andrew and Tristan Tate — held in solitary pending UK extradition (2026)
- Ryan Wesley Routh — attempted assassination of President Trump; held pretrial before USP Victorville
- Sean Kingston — 2025 wire-fraud case; later moved to FMC Lexington
- Fat Joe — tax evasion, released 2014
- Colton Harris-Moore — the 'Barefoot Bandit,' held 2010
See Also
References
- ↑ "Canadian dies in ICE custody in Florida". New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Family of Canadian ICE detainee who died at FDC Miami raises alarms". Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Due Process Violations at FDC Miami". Americans for Immigrant Justice. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
- ↑ "'Animals get treated better than this': immigrant detainee speaks out about living conditions at FDC Miami". WLRN. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
- ↑ "'Not a Marriott': Tate brothers held in solitary confinement in Miami jail". AP/US News. Retrieved November 10, 2026.