Immigrants held in small outdoor cages at 'Alligator Alcatraz' in Florida, investigators find

Immigrants held at "Alligator Alcatraz", a now-shuttered detention centre in Florida, were kept in small metal cages for hours, according to a report from the US Department of Homeland Security's watchdog.

Key points

• The BBC has contacted DHS's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for comment.
• In 2025, the detention facility was built over the course of eight days in the Everglades, a protected wetland known for its alligators.
• In June 2026, DeSantis remarked the facility would close as it was only meant to be temporary.
• The facility was established by the state of Florida through an executive order signed by DeSantis, but the federal administration paid for operational costs.
• Investigators concluded the centre additionally did not comply with a number of standards for hygiene, medical care, food, health and safety.

For context, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) discovered the apply of the outdoor cages – regarding 18sq ft (1.67sq m) – was "unprecedented among detention facilities" and dangerous.

Notably, the BBC has contacted DHS's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for comment. DHS informed the watchdog that state office-holders ran the facility.

In its response included in the investigation report, DHS authorities stated Florida – not the federal administration – had authority over day-to-day operations at the facility.

For context, the facility was established by the state of Florida through an executive order signed by DeSantis, but the federal administration paid for operational costs.

In January, the OIG conducted a surprise inspection at the detention facility. It had become one of the most notorious immigration detention centres in the US. The OIG is an independent internal watchdog at DHS. The current inspector general was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term.

In 2025, the detention facility was built over the course of eight days in the Everglades, a protected wetland known for its alligators. Trump once joked that immigrants held there would need to learn "how to run away" from the reptiles at the facility. It civil rights groups have decried as inhumane.

According to the OIG report, between July 2025 and January 2026, the facility kept 79 immigrants in the small metal enclosures, describing them as "calming areas" for individuals to "deescalate and have time alone". They were held there from periods ranging from minutes to almost two hours, at least once as a disciplinary measure, OIG stated.

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

Detainees at the facility have previously informed the BBC they were denied necessary medication and regular showers and other hygiene measures.

In their report, OIG inspectors remarked they identified immigrants held at the facility had to employ showers infested with small bugs and were only allowed to do so three times a week.

As the report notes, the facility did not provide them with sufficient living space, "creating cramped conditions for detainees who spent most of their time in their housing units".

Immigrants at the centre additionally informed OIG that they did not have access to clean drinking water and could not clean the plastic cups from which they drank.

In short, immigrants held in small outdoor cages at ' Alligator Alcatraz' in Florida, investigators is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.