DHS Watchdog Faults Florida Detention Center for 18-Square-Foot Cages, Failing Federal Standards
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 14
DHS Watchdog Faults Florida Detention Center for 18-Square-Foot Cages, Failing Federal Standards
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 14
Summary
A DHS inspector general report found Florida’s now-closed “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center used 18-square-foot metal enclosures as “calming areas,” at times holding migrants for nearly two hours.
Investigators said the cages were unprecedented in facilities they had inspected and posed significant health and safety risks; they also documented at least one case in which a cage was used to discipline a detainee.
The report found broader noncompliance with national detention standards on medical care, food service, personal hygiene and recreation, while saying the site met intake and use-of-force rules.
Housing units provided just 28 square feet per detainee at maximum capacity, far below the 75 square feet required under national standards.
Florida opened the Everglades facility in July 2025 to support Trump’s immigration crackdown and later shut it this summer after criticism, legal challenges and operating costs exceeding $1 million a day.