- - Detainees subjected to 'torture' at Alligator Alcatraz, group alleges

Ana Goñi-Lessan, USA TODAY NETWORK December 5, 2025 at 10:52 PM

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Detainees subjected to 'torture' at Alligator Alcatraz, group alleges

A global human rights organization is alleging inhumane treatment of immigrant detainees at Alligator Alcatraz, a detention center in South Florida, claiming some are subject to what they say is "torture."

A report by Amnesty International claims detainees are being mistreated at the state-run immigration detention center in the Everglades, as well as at the Krome North Processing Center, a federally-run immigration detention and processing center in Miami. USA TODAY has previously reported on conditions at Krome, which one immigrant woman described as "hell on earth."

According to the report, punitive punishment at Alligator Alcatraz includes being "put in the ‘box,’ described as a 2x2-foot cage-like structure ‒ sometimes for hours at a time exposed to the elements with hardly any water ‒ with their feet attached to restraints on the ground."

“People ended up in the ‘box’ just for asking the guards for anything. I saw a guy who was put in it for an entire day," said one man who was interviewed in the report.

The report says immigrants detained at Alligator Alcatraz are also experiencing "unsanitary conditions including overflowing toilets with fecal matter seeping into where people are sleeping, limited access to showers, exposure to insects without protective measures, lights on 24 hours a day, poor quality food and water, and lack of privacy ‒ including cameras above the toilets."

“Immigration enforcement cannot operate outside the rule of law or exempt itself from human rights standards. What we are seeing in Florida should alarm the entire region," said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Americas, in a press release.

According to the organization's report "ICE officials stated that they “wholly disagree” with Amnesty International’s findings but did not provide additional information."

Molly Best, a spokesperson from Gov. Ron DeSantis' office, called the report a "politically motivated attack" and said allegations of abuse or negligence have been fully investigated and are "fabrications."

"In fact, running these allegations without any evidence whatsoever could jeopardize the safety and security of our staff and those being housed at Alligator Alcatraz," Best said in a text message to the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida.

Amnesty International report says there's a 'deliberate strategy that dehumanizes and punishes migrants'

Amnesty International said its findings were gathered between Sept. 21 and 26 of this year. While the organization was able to access Krome, they were not able to enter Alligator Alcatraz and said they received no response from Florida authorities. The information about Alligator Alcatraz in the report was then gathered by interviewing four detainees at Krome who had previously been at the state-run detention facility.

The report also alleges medical treatment is inconsistent or nonexistent at Alligator Alcatraz, and detainees are housed in "cages" with very little outside time. While phones are available in each cage, they only allow monitored, collect-pay phone calls and those are limited to five minutes.

Included in Amnesty International's list of recommendations are: the shutdown of Alligator Alcatraz; an end to 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities that allow people to be taken into immigration custody when released locally; prohibit the use of solitary confinement in Krome; and ensure all detainees have access to legal counsel.

"The cumulative effect of these punitive policies and practices reveals a deliberate strategy that dehumanizes and punishes migrants and people seeking safety, with the aim of deterring them from seeking protection or staying in the country," the report states. "These policies erode due process guarantees and violate the United States’ obligations under international human rights and refugee law."

The controversy over Alligator Alcatraz

Alligator Alcatraz is one of two state-run immigration detention facilities in Florida, the second being Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson.

Alligator Alcatraz, which opened in early July on the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Collier County, has been the subject of several lawsuits which have attempted to shut down the detention center.

The state and the federal government are defendants in a lawsuit from the Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida on grounds the state failed to conduct an environmental review on the land where Alligator Alcatraz is located.

An environmental study is required to comply with federal laws, and critics say the federal funds cement their involvement in the facility.

While the facility's operations were briefly put on pause in August, a federal appeals court decision allowed it to resume operations in September.

In October, the feds said they reimbursed the state of Florida over half a billion dollars for its state-run immigration facilities, a move that plaintiffs called a "smoking gun."

That lawsuit is still pending.

In a statement provided to the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, Miccosukee Chairman Talbert Cypress said the tribe is "focused on protecting its ancestral lands and holding the State and federal government accountable for their failure to comply with environmental laws in the facility's original and illegal construction."

"By protecting nature, we protect humanity," Cypress added. "We hope to soon end this dark chapter of history in the Big Cypress."

Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Rights group claims detainees face ‘torture’ at Alligator Alcatraz

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