Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, immigration policies have intensified pressure on those subject to deportation. A US government report now documents deficiencies in health, safety, medical care and hygiene that affected members of the diaspora held in Florida.
Confined in cages, this is how dozens of people remained at the Alligator Alcatraz detention centre in Florida, once promoted as a symbol of the hardline immigration policies of the Donald Trump administration.
On 1 July 2025, Trump himself inaugurated the temporary facility, located in a remote area of Everglades National Park, approximately 60 kilometres from the US city of Miami.
Despite the fanfare at the time, the government itself has now admitted flaws. At least, that is what can be deduced from a report by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General, who visited the site in January. “The use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not meet standards of humane treatment,” warned the federal watchdog in its 34-page report, referring to the practice of keeping detainees in indoor enclosures measuring approximately 1.6 metres as being “unlike anything else observed (…) at ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) facilities”.
The investigation found that detainees were living in overcrowded conditions, spending most of the day in accommodation lacking adequate ventilation, and that between 17 July 2025 and 18 January 2026, some 79 immigrants remained in these small metal enclosures.
Even the lack of space, visible in the photographs accompanying the text, “reduced the daily mobility of inmates, increasing stress levels and the risk of spreading contagious diseases”, the inspectors noted.
However, for facility staff, such “cages” were a sort of “calming” or “relaxation” zones.
The immigrant prison was closed down in June this year amidst legal disputes and squabbling over its exorbitant costs. Governor Ron DeSantis announced the closure of the temporary facility, adding that “there is no doubt that this mission has made the state of Florida safer”, noting that 21,000 people subject to deportation passed through it.
For DeSantis, the operation fulfilled its objective.
According to the report, the Florida Soft-Sided Facility (the centre’s official name) failed to meet standards regarding environmental health and safety, medical care, food service, personal hygiene, and recreation, something that “may harm the physical and mental health of detainees”.
“The use of these small metal cells, whatever the reason, is unprecedented (…) and poses a significant risk to the health and safety of detainees,” the document emphasised.
Local media recall that prior to its closure, Alligator Alcatraz, as it was also known, faced widespread criticism from lawyers, relatives of detainees, members of Congress, and human rights advocates.
Democratic members of Congress visited the facility last year, claiming they saw hundreds of immigrants confined in cages, subjected to stifling heat, exposed to insect bites, and receiving scarce food. ICE defended its practices, going so far as to claim at one point that the facility provided higher standards of detention than many prisons across the United States. PL
(Photos: Pixabay)
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