DHS's Own Watchdog Just Confirmed the Alligator Alcatraz Cages Were Real
Inspectors found 79 detainees were held in phone booth-sized cages and documented failures in medical care, hygiene and legal access.
- A U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General report revealed that 'Alligator Alcatraz' confined 79 detainees in phone booth-sized metal cages for up to nearly two hours, a practice officials called "unprecedented."
- Inspectors documented detainees limited to 28 square feet per person, with bug-infested showers and inoperable telephones that prevented contact with attorneys or case workers.
- The compound carries an estimated $1 billion price tag; Florida lawmakers last week signed off on another $250 million funding request for the state agency that built it.
- At a news conference Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis defended Florida's immigration enforcement, claiming the state accounts for "between 40% and 50% of all state and local immigration arrests."
- While the DeSantis administration shuttered the Everglades site, Florida continues operating 'Deportation Depot,' which held 1,028 detainees as of Aug. 27, 2026, keeping the report's findings consequential.
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13 Articles
DHS Oversight Agency Issues Scathing Report of Conditions at 'Alligator Alcatraz'
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) own Office of Inspector General (OIG), an office that seeks to provide independent oversight and accountability within the department, issued a damning report last week about the conditions of confinement at Florida’s soft-sided immigration detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The report described the troubling conditions OIG found […]
This detention centre operated for one year in Florida, between early July 2025 and June 2026. Migrants were temporarily placed in mini-cells of the size of the
Daily Montanan
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainees were held in cages the size of a phone booth
This story was originally published by The Florida Trib. When federal investigators showed up unannounced at the sprawling pop-up prison in the Florida Everglades in January, they found something they had never seen at any other immigration detention center in the country: Detainees at “Alligator Alcatraz” were being held for up to nearly two hours […]
Immigration News Today: Phone Booth-Sized Cages Used at Alligator Alcatraz
Just have a minute? Here are the top stories you need to know about immigration. This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here. ACROSS THE U.S. A new report from DHS’s internal watchdog found that cages the size of phone booths, referred to as “calming areas,” were used at Florida’s infamous ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention facility. (NBC News, 📄Report)…
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