Alligator Alcatraz detainees kept in cramped metal cages, DHS watchdog finds

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported that immigrants held at the temporary Florida detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz were kept for short periods in small outdoor metal enclosures and experienced inadequate hygiene, medical care and living conditions.

The OIG conducted a surprise inspection in January and reviewed operations at the facility that was established by a Florida executive order and funded operationally by the federal government. Investigators described the outdoor cages as roughly 18 square feet and said they were used as “calming areas” where detainees spent from minutes up to nearly two hours, once reportedly for disciplinary purposes.

Inspectors found the facility did not comply with multiple standards for food, health and safety. Detainees reported limited access to required medication, infrequent showers that inspectors said were infested with small bugs, insufficient living space that created cramped housing units, and lack of clean drinking water or means to clean drinking cups.

DHS told the OIG that Florida officials managed day-to-day operations. The OIG characterized the use of such restrictive spaces as “highly unconventional” and dangerous, noting the arrangement was unprecedented among detention facilities.

Liberal News Analysis: What Does This Development Mean?

The OIG inspection documents that between July 2025 and January 2026, 79 immigrants were held in the small metal enclosures at Alligator Alcatraz. The facility was built quickly in 2025 in the Everglades and later described by state officials as temporary; it was closed in June 2026, according to the report. The report records detainees’ accounts of shortages in hygiene, medical access and potable water, and notes federal funding while state officials retained operational control.

Quick Glance: What You Need to Know

• OIG found immigrants held in roughly 18 sq ft outdoor metal enclosures at the facility.
• Inspectors reported noncompliance with hygiene, medical care, food, health and safety standards.
• Between July 2025 and January 2026, 79 detainees experienced the cited conditions, and the facility closed in June 2026.