DHS REPORT FINDS ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ USED DETAINEE CAGES

Detainees at a now-closed detention centre in the Florida Everglades, known as Alligator Alcatraz, were held in small metal cages, a US watchdog has found. The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general said 79 detainees were confined in the cages between July 2025 and January 2026, for up to nearly two hours. Staff called the cages, about 18 square feet and roughly the size of a telephone booth, "calming areas" for detainees to de-escalate. The report, released on Monday, said the practice did not meet standards for humane treatment.

The South Florida Detention Facility opened in July 2025 and was run by Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, before closing in June 2026. One detainee spent 26 minutes in a cage for failing to "comply with a lawful order", and the report said cages may have been used for discipline. In December, Amnesty International alleged detainees were shackled in outdoor cages for hours and exposed to heat and mosquitoes, claims a spokesperson for Mr DeSantis dismissed as "fabrications". The inspector general found inadequate living space and limited access to showers, legal information and clean water, breaching detention standards.

The report followed an unannounced visit in January 2026, confirming for the first time that staff used the cages in breach of Immigration and Customs Enforcement rules. Mr DeSantis's communications manager, Alex Lanfranconi, said the area "adheres to all federal standards" and that officials would "make it even smaller if we could". His office did not explain its earlier denial, and called detainees, without evidence, "violent criminal aliens who have proven they cannot remain peaceful while awaiting deportation". Amnesty International's Amy Fischer said the findings confirmed what the group "documented months ago".