Florida Governor Ron DeSantis brushed off a Department of Homeland Security watchdog report detailing immigrants being held in small outdoor cages at the "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center. The report found the facility violated federal and state standards for detainee treatment.
The findings raise concerns about the treatment of immigrants in US detention facilities and the adherence to federal standards, particularly given the facility was established and run by a state administration.
Immigrants at Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" federal immigration jail were frequently locked in outdoor metal cages, some no bigger than a phone booth, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) watchdog report. The findings from the office of the inspector general (OIG) stated the practice "does not align with standards for humane treatment" and was "unprecedented among ICE facilities."
The OIG report detailed numerous failings during an unannounced January 2026 visit to the facility, referred to as the Florida Soft-Sided Facility (FSSF), many of which posed "significant risks to detainee health and safety." The report found that 79 instances between July 2025 and January 2026 involved guards placing detainees in metal cages for up to two hours at a time. Each cage offered about 18 sq ft of floor space, less than half the minimum required by ICE's published national detention standards.
Facility staff insisted the cages were used as "calming areas" for detainees to "deescalate and have time alone," but inspectors noted at least one instance where a cage was used as a disciplinary tool for a detainee who "failed to comply with a lawful command." Inspectors also found overcrowding, insufficient recreation time, inoperable telephones preventing contact with attorneys or families, and poor food hygiene standards. Multiple detainees told inspectors in January they had limited or no access to clean drinking water.
The notorious immigration jail closed in June after a year of operation. Officials cited the risk of holding detainees in tents during hurricane season for the closure, though critics suggested the facility's high cost and legal challenges related to its environmental impact and detainee treatment contributed to its demise. A spokesperson for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whose administration ran the facility on behalf of the federal government, had previously dismissed earlier claims of abuse as "fabrications."