DHS watchdog finds detainees confined in phone-booth sized cages at Florida immigration jail
A DHS inspector-general report confirmed that detainees at the former Florida immigration facility were placed in metal cages far smaller than ICE standards, citing health and safety risks.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General released a report detailing conditions at the now-closed Florida immigration detention center, often referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz.” Inspectors found that detainees were regularly confined in metal cages measuring about 18 square feet, well below the 37-square-foot minimum required by Immigration and Customs Enforcement standards. Records showed 79 instances between July 2025 and January 2026 where guards placed individuals in the cages for up to two hours.
The report described the facility, officially the Florida Soft-Sided Facility, as having “significant risks to detainee health and safety,” noting cramped living spaces, inadequate recreation, non-functional telephones, and poor food-handling practices. Inspectors also documented limited access to clean drinking water and instances where cages were used as disciplinary measures.
"The findings confirm what we documented months ago: the horrific treatment of people detained at Alligator Alcatraz was real, not a hoax," said Amy Fischer, director for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA.
"There is no euphemism that can sanitize caging human beings. Calling a metal box a ‘calming area’ is an affront to the English language and to human dignity alike," said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and chief executive of Global Refuge.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s office previously denied the use of the cages, labeling the allegations as fabrications. In a later statement, communications manager Alex Lanfranconi claimed the confinement area met federal standards and suggested it could be made even smaller if desired.
The facility was shut down in June after a year of operation, with officials citing hurricane-season risks. Critics highlighted the $1.2 million daily cost to taxpayers and raised concerns about environmental impacts and the treatment of detainees, describing the conditions as comparable to torture.