DHS watchdog: Immigrants held in outdoor cages the size of phone booths at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
The report said 79 detainees were held in 16- and 18-square-foot cages, far below ICE detention standards.
- Homeland Security inspector general records reveal 79 detainees were held in 16- and 18-square-foot metal enclosures at the Everglades facility, Alligator Alcatraz, between July 17, 2025, and January 18.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis opened the Everglades site in July 2025 under a 287 partnership, though inspector general investigators found ICE personnel on-site despite the agency lacking a formal contract to manage operations.
- Amnesty International investigators toured the site in September 2025, reporting "inhuman and unsanitary conditions," and concluded the use of a metal "box" for shackling detainees constitutes torture.
- The facility shut down in June after costing taxpayers more than $1 billion, with daily bed costs exceeding $3,000 compared to typical $200 rates for standard ICE detention beds.
- Ongoing lawsuits challenge the $608 million provided by The Federal Emergency Management Agency for an operation that lacked a formal federal contract and drew sharp criticism from Democrats.
27 Articles
27 Articles
Florida's former 'Alligator Alcatraz' kept migrants in metal cages: DHS inspector general
Some illegal immigrants were kept in small metal cages for up to two hours while being detained at "Alligator Alcatraz," according to a federal inspector general's report on Monday.
'Torture' cages confirmed by Trump's own DHS watchdog were smaller than solitary cells
A new Department of Homeland Security inspector general report has confirmed for the first time that immigrants detained at Florida's now-shuttered "Alligator Alcatraz" facility were held in outdoor metal cages roughly the size of a telephone booth.The finding corroborates a December report by Amnes...
Alligator Alcatraz report details disturbing conditions
Nearly 80 immigrant detainees who were held at Florida’s makeshift detention center, known as Alligator Alcatraz, were briefly held in small metal enclosures for “periods ranging from several minutes to nearly 2 hours,” according to a federal watchdog report
NYT: Alligator Alcatraz Used “Small Metal Enclosures”
The New York Times reports: A state-run immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades failed to comply with a host of federal detention standards, creating cramped conditions and confining migrants in “small metal enclosures,” according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security’s independent watchdog. The report said the use of the enclosures … The post NYT: Alligator Alcatraz Used “Small Metal Enclosures” appeared first on…
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detainees Were Confined in Phone-Booth-Sized Outdoor Cages
Ochopee, Florida — A Department of Homeland Security watchdog found that immigrants held at Florida’s former “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center were sometimes placed in outdoor metal cages measuring about 16 square feet, smaller than federal detention standards allow. According to the DHS inspector general, facility staff called the enclosures “calming areas” where detainees could “reflect on their behavior choices, manage their emotions, red…
DHS watchdog: Immigrants held in outdoor cages the size of phone booths at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
WASHINGTON — Some immigrants detained at Florida’s now-shuttered “Alligator Alcatraz” were confined in outdoor cages only slightly larger than telephone booths for more than an hour at a time, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.
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