Report finds detainees at Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ were held in cramped metal cages, with facility conditions failing multiple detention standards
WASHINGTON: Detainees at the now-shuttered immigration facility in Florida known as “Alligator Alcatraz” were held at times in metal cages the size of phone booths, according to a new report.
The report by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) found that the detention center did not meet standards in a number of areas.
The facility in the Florida Everglades operated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which became a symbol of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive, was shut down in June amid legal wrangling and controversy over its soaring costs.
Ahead of its closure, “Alligator Alcatraz” drew criticism from lawyers, relatives of detainees and human rights advocates, who accused the government of holding undocumented migrants in harsh conditions and denying them meaningful due process.
The inspector general’s report, which was released on Friday, was compiled after a visit by the OIG to the center, officially known as the Florida Soft-Sided Facility (FSSF), in January.
It found that FSSF did not meet standards in terms of environmental health and safety, medical care, food service, personal hygiene or recreation.
“FSSF did not provide detainees with sufficient living space, creating cramped conditions for detainees who spent most of their time in their housing units, which may harm detainees’ physical and mental health,” the report said.
Between July 2025 and January 2026, 79 detainees were confined in small metal enclosures comprising about 18 square feet (1.67 square meters) of floor space for periods ranging from several minutes to nearly two hours, the report said.
The enclosures were described by facility staff as “‘calming areas’ for detainees to deescalate and have time alone,” it said.
“Use of these small metal enclosures for any reason is unprecedented among detention facilities OIG has inspected and presents significant risks to detainee health and safety,” the report said. “The use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment.”
Among the recommendations made in the report was putting an end to the use of the small metal enclosures, greater access to showers for inmates and more recreation time.
Trump, who has vowed to deport millions of undocumented migrants, visited “Alligator Alcatraz” after its July 2025 opening, boasting about the harsh conditions and joking that the reptilian predators in nearby waters would serve as guards to discourage escape attempts.
