DHS watchdog flags cramped cages at Florida detention site dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz'

A Department of Homeland Security inspector general report finds that detainees at Florida’s former Alligator Alcatraz detention site were confined in outdoor cages roughly 4-by-4 feet (16 square feet) and indoor cages around 18 square feet for up to about two hours each. The facility, opened in 2025 under a 287(g) agreement and closed in 2026, cost taxpayers more than $1 billion to operate; Amnesty International previously described the conditions as torture, triggering congressional probes. The IG’s findings label the use of such spaces as highly unconventional and not aligned with humane standards, and note that ICE did not have a day-to-day contract to run the facility, complicating oversight.