An official report from the United States government confirmed on Monday what humanitarian organizations have been denouncing for months: the immigration detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz operated under conditions of extreme overcrowding, the use of small metal cages, and multiple violations of basic detention standards.
The document, prepared by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, is the first federal investigation that documents these practices, according to a report by EFE.
Among the most disturbing findings is the use of metal cells measuring only 1.7 square meters in area, which the center's staff described as "calm zones" for detainees to relax. Inspectors, however, found evidence that they were also used as punishment. As many as 79 migrants were confined in these spaces for periods ranging from several minutes to almost two hours, between July 2025 and January 2026.
"The use of such restrictive spaces contravenes human treatment standards, which require keeping detainees in the least restrictive environment possible," the report noted. The inspectors described the practice as "highly unconventional" and warned that it was "unlike anything the Inspector General's team has observed in Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities."
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The overcrowding was equally severe. Federal regulations require at least 7 square meters per detainee, but at maximum capacity, the facility offered barely 2.6 square meters per inmate. The housing units housed between 22 and 31 people each. According to the report, this situation "reduced the daily mobility of the inmates, increasing stress levels and the risk of spreading contagious diseases."
The detainees also reported significant delays in medical assessments upon entry, insufficient hygiene supplies, scarce and poor-quality food rations, and entire weeks without being able to go outside, in direct violation of current regulations.
The Department of Homeland Security responded to the report by arguing that the center "operated under the authority of the state of Florida through a framework agreement and not under the direct management of ICE, so federal detention standards were not applicable." The recommendations of the Inspector General—ceasing the use of metal cells and ensuring access to drinking water—were administratively closed because the center had already ceased its operations.
Alligator Alcatraz, officially known as the South Florida Reception Center, was inaugurated by President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis in July 2025 at a former airfield in the Everglades, built in just eight days using state emergency powers. According to DeSantis, about 22,000 people went through its facilities during its operation.
The report comes days after two former guards of the facility were criminally charged with beating the Cuban Rigoberto Rodríguez Arce, 42 years old, during a protest over lack of food and water on January 25, 2026. His lawyer described him as "wearing a uniform stained with blood, in addition to having a bandaged hand and a bruised eye."
The center closed permanently in June 2026 after months of pressure from humanitarian and environmental organizations, with an estimated operating cost of over 1.2 billion dollars in total during its approximately 350 days of operation, according to an investigation by CBS News Miami.
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