Former detainee alleges 15-hour confinement in small cage at Florida ICE facility

A man who was detained at the former Ochopee, Florida immigration facility says he was forced to spend over 15 hours in a metal cage measuring about 4 feet by 4 feet and 7 feet tall. Raúl Suárez Herrero, 59, told a Spanish-language news program that he was placed in the enclosure after praying aloud for an ill detainee, and that he was not released until early morning. He described the environment as swarming with mosquitoes and warned of snakes on the ground, saying he could not sleep for fear of being bitten.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) confirmed the presence of such cages in a September 2023 report, noting that their use is “highly unconventional” and does not meet standards for humane treatment. The OIG’s inspection in January documented that the facility’s records listed an average cage stay of just under an hour, with no detainee held more than two hours, and that detainees could leave at any time by request or staff directive.

Amnesty International’s December report, based on detainee interviews and a site tour, described the cages as amounting to torture. Facility staff, however, characterized the enclosures as “calming areas” intended for de-escalation, stating that no one spent more than two hours inside.

When asked for comment, a DHS spokesperson rejected claims of inhumane conditions, calling them “categorically false” and asserting that detainees receive medical care, meals, clean water and other basic services. The spokesperson also said the facility’s standards were consistent with those of previous administrations and referred further questions to the State of Florida, which managed the site through its Division of Emergency Management.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s office defended the cages, describing them as confinement spaces for “violent criminal aliens who have proven they cannot remain peaceful,” and suggesting they could be made smaller if possible.

Suárez, a Cuban-born U.S. resident since age 12, was detained by ICE in July 2025 during a routine check-in. He had previously been ordered removed in 2000 after a drug-related conviction, but remained in the United States because Cuba would not accept deportees at the time. After a federal judge extended the deadline for his removal, DHS deported him to Mexico in February 2026.

The OIG report noted that the agency had not implemented any of its ten recommendations, including a call to discontinue the use of the small metal enclosures for any duration. At the time of the inspection, all detainees in the cages were ICE detainees, and ICE exercised some oversight of the facility.