DHS watchdog finds detainees held in phone booth-sized cages at Alligator Alcatraz

A Department of Homeland Security watchdog report reveals that the state-run Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in Florida confined at least 79 immigrant detainees in locked, phone booth-sized metal cages between July 2025 and January 2026. The 18-square-foot enclosures, which staff called "calming areas," violated federal standards and were used as disciplinary tools. The report details severe overcrowding, bug-infested showers, and a lack of clean water at the high-cost facility, which closed in June 2026.

Phone booth-sized detention cages

• ▪The metal cages used at Alligator Alcatraz measured approximately 4 feet 3 inches wide by 4 feet 3 inches deep and 7 feet 9 inches tall, providing only 16 to 18 square feet of floor space
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General documented at least one instance where a metal cage at Alligator Alcatraz was used as a disciplinary tool for a detainee who failed to comply with a command
• ▪A Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report revealed that staff at the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in Florida confined at least 79 immigrant detainees in small metal cages between July 2025 and January 2026
• ▪Alligator Alcatraz facility staff referred to the metal enclosures as "calming areas" and claimed detainees requested to use them, but inspectors observed locking mechanisms on the cages

Alligator Alcatraz facility conditions

• ▪Detainees at Alligator Alcatraz reported severe conditions including a lack of clean drinking water, bug-infested showers, and being restricted to showering only three times per week
• ▪An Amnesty International report from September 2025 concluded that the use of "the box" at Alligator Alcatraz, where detainees were shackled in restraints in the heat, constituted torture

DHS inspector general findings

• ▪The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General made 10 recommendations to address failures at Alligator Alcatraz, but all were rendered moot because the facility closed before the report was published
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General stated that the use of small metal enclosures for any reason was unprecedented among all Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities it had inspected
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General conducted an unannounced inspection of the Alligator Alcatraz facility in January 2026

Federal detention standard violations

• ▪The Department of Homeland Security stated in response to the watchdog report that the agency did not have a contract with Florida to manage the facility and that the state maintained authority over daily operations
• ▪The 18-square-foot cages at Alligator Alcatraz provided less than half of the 37 square feet of minimum space required for single-person holding rooms under Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidelines
• ▪Alligator Alcatraz provided detainees with only 28 square feet of living space per person at maximum capacity, far below the federal standard of 75 square feet required per detainee

Facility operational history

• ▪The state of Florida officially closed Alligator Alcatraz in June 2026, with officials citing the safety risks of holding detainees in soft-sided tents during hurricane season
• ▪Alligator Alcatraz opened in the Florida Everglades in July 2025 as a state-run facility built by Governor Ron DeSantis's administration to assist in federal immigration enforcement
• ▪Alligator Alcatraz cost taxpayers more than $1 million per day to operate, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency providing $608 million to Florida for its operation

Debatable claims

• ▪FEMA should not fund state-run immigration detention facilities
• ▪Florida was justified in building Alligator Alcatraz to assist immigration enforcement