An official report from the United States government confirmed this Monday what humanitarian organizations have been reporting 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 to officially confirm 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 surface area, which the staff at the center referred to as "quiet zones" for detainees to calm down. However, the inspectors found evidence that they were also used as punishment. Up to 79 migrants were confined in these enclosures for periods ranging from several minutes to nearly two hours, between July 2025 and January 2026.
"The use of such restrictive spaces violates standards of humane treatment, which require keeping detainees in the least restrictive environment possible," the report stated. 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 its maximum capacity, the facility barely offered 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 evaluations upon entry, insufficient hygiene supplies, scarce and poor-quality food rations, and entire weeks unable 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 the federal detention standards did not apply." The recommendations of the Inspector General—to cease the use of metal cells and ensure access to drinking water—were administratively closed because the center had already ceased its operations.
Alligator Alcatraz, officially named the South Florida Reception Center, was inaugurated by President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis in July 2025 at an old airfield in the Everglades, built in just eight days using state emergency powers. According to DeSantis, about 22,000 people passed through its facilities during its operation.
The report comes days after two former guards of the center were criminally charged with beating the Cuban Rigoberto Rodríguez Arce, 42, during a protest over the 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, and an estimated operational 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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