‘Alligator Alcatraz’ put detainees in metal cages labeled ‘calming areas,’ watchdog finds

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

(CNN) — Nearly 80 immigrant detainees who were held at Florida’s makeshift detention center, known as Alligator Alcatraz, were briefly held in small metal enclosures for “periods ranging from several minutes to nearly 2 hours,” according to a federal watchdog report

The Department of Homeland Security inspector general, which visited the now-shuttered facility in January, said in its report that the practice of holding detainees in the indoor enclosures — with about 18 square feet of floor space — was “unlike any OIG team has observed in ICE facilities.”

“The use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment,” the report says.

The 34-page report reveals disturbing conditions at Alligator Alcatraz, which was used to detain immigrants amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and touted by Florida and Homeland Security officials. President Donald Trump also visited the facility last summer. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the facility was meant to be temporary and it ceased operations in mid-June.

Less than 50 miles west of Trump’s Miami Beach resort, the detention center was opened by the state in summer 2025 after being speedily erected on the runway of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. It invited immediate backlash from Democratic lawmakers, immigrant rights groups, environmentalists, and tribal groups whose lands flank the facility.

Democrats who visited the facility last year described hundreds of migrants confined in cages and subjected to sweltering heat, bug infestations, and meager meals. Though detainees’ families have also expressed alarm, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have defended the facility as offering higher detention standards than many US prisons.

According to the inspector general report, which was first reported by NBC News, it was unclear which detention standards Florida was using to hold immigrants at the facility. DHS said the state, not the department, maintained authority over the facility’s daily operations, the report says, later noting that facilities that house ICE detainees must comply with ICE detention standards.

Inspectors found the facility complied with intake and use-of-force standards, but not with a series of other standards related to medical service, food service, and personal hygiene, among others.

CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and Florida Division of Emergency Management for comment.

Metal cages as ‘calming areas’

The report found that detainees were held in cramped conditions, spending most of their days in windowless housing units, and that between July 17, 2025, and January 18, 2026, 79 detainees were confined in small metal enclosures.

“Use of these small metal enclosures for any reason is unprecedented among detention facilities OIG has inspected and presents significant risks to detainee health and safety,” the report says.

The report includes photos of the metal housing enclosures inside the Special Management Units that were observed in January. Inspectors also observed at least two small metal enclosures in the outdoor recreation areas akin to cages. They measured approximately 4 feet 3 inches by 4 feet 3 inches and 7 feet 9 inches tall, the report says.

Facility staff described them as “calming areas” for detainees to de-escalate and said detainees asked to spend time in the enclosures. The inspector general’s team found “at least one instance in which the small metal enclosures may have been used as a disciplinary tool,” the report says.

The average time spent in a metal enclosure was just under an hour, the inspectors found.

Cramped conditions

There were also crowded conditions in housing units, where detainees spent most of their time. The eight housing units listed by the inspector general report held between 22 to 31 individuals each, according to population data provided by the facility in late January, above what would be the required standard of 75 square feet per detainee.

The inspectors also examined facility areas, collected and analyzed documentation “related to housing conditions, use of force, food service, and medical care,” as well as interviewed facility staff and detainees, according to the report.

In interviews with detainees, inspectors were told that they did not have access to clean drinking water and showered three times a week. The facility’s showers were also infested with small bugs, the inspection team found.

The inspector general’s recommendations — ranging from discontinuing the use of small metal enclosures to hold detainees and providing access to clean drinking water and cups — were closed as a result of the facility ceasing operations.

In a management response, however, DHS said it didn’t have a contract with Florida to manage detention space and the state maintained authority of daily operations, the report states.

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