DHS Watchdog Finds 79 Detainees Held in Cages

A DHS Office of Inspector General report found that 79 immigrant detainees at Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz were held in outdoor metal cages about 4-by-4 feet and indoor enclosures measuring roughly 18 square feet. Placements between July 2025 and January 2026 ran from minutes to nearly two hours, averaging just under an hour, and included at least one disciplinary use. The OIG, after a January surprise inspection, called the practice unprecedented among detention facilities and stated that the use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment. Facility staff described the spaces as calming areas for detainees to deescalate and have time alone. Detainees told the OIG of showers infested with small bugs and limited to three times a week, plus lack of clean drinking water and unwashed plastic cups. The state-run Everglades site was built in eight days in 2025, toured by Trump in July, and closed in June 2026 after DeSantis announced it would shut. DHS told the watchdog that Florida, not the federal government, ran day-to-day operations while the federal government paid costs. Earlier accounts and Amnesty International described extreme heat, insects, limited water and shackling, with Amnesty calling the cages torture; ICE disputed some allegations and said detainees were not shackled inside the enclosures.