'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees held in metal cages the size of phone booths, report says

Detainees at the now-defunct immigration facility in Florida, labeled as "Alligator Alcatraz," were occasionally confined in metal cages akin in size to phone booths, according to a recent report by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The FSSF, situated in Florida's Everglades, operated under the auspices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and gained infamy during President Donald Trump's tenure as an emblem of his aggressive deportation policies.

However, the facility was shuttered in June 2025 amid a maelstrom of legal disputes and controversy over the exorbitant costs involved.

Prior to its dismantling, "Alligator Alcatraz" was subjected to severe scrutiny from legal practitioners, detainees' relatives, and human rights activists, who accused the government of confining undocumented migrants in inhumane conditions and stripping them of fundamental due process rights. The OIG report, unveiled on Friday, emerged from a January inspection of the facility, officially known as the Florida Soft-Sided Facility (FSSF).

The inspection revealed that the FSSF fell short of standards pertaining to environmental health and safety, medical care, food service, personal hygiene, and recreational facilities. The report highlighted the abysmal living space provided to detainees, which were crammed into these cages, sometimes amounting to merely 1.67 square meters of floor space. This cramped condition, the report asserted, could inflict severe damage on detainees' physical and mental well-being.

During the period between July 2025 and January 2026, 79 detainees were temporarily housed in these diminutive cages for durations ranging from a few minutes to nearly two hours. These enclosures were dubbed "calming areas" by facility personnel, intended for detainees to disengage and spend solitary time. However, the OIG deemed the utilization of such minuscule enclosures in any circumstance unprecedented among detention facilities it had inspected and flagrantly contravening norms for humane treatment.

The report urged an immediate cessation of the use of these small metal enclosures, enhanced access to showers for inmates, and augmentation of recreational time. The report's recommendations drew criticism from President Trump, who, pledged to deport a myriad of undocumented migrants, inaugurated the FSSF in July 2025, praising its stringent conditions and quipping that the nearby alligators would act as guards to deter escape attempts.