DHS inspector general found Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' held detainees in outdoor cages mislabeled 'calming areas'

On September 11, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General published report OIG-26-22, finding that Florida's now-closed "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention facility in Ochopee confined 79 detainees between July 17, 2025 and January 18, 2026 in small metal enclosures -- outdoor units of about 16 square feet and indoor units of about 18 square feet -- that facility staff called "calming areas." Confinements averaged about 59 minutes and ran as long as nearly two hours; inspectors documented at least one instance where a detainee was placed in an enclosure for failing to comply with a lawful command rather than for the stated de-escalation purpose. A sign on one enclosure described it as intended to let detainees "reflect on their behavior choices," and staff told inspectors detainees were not locked in even though inspectors observed locking mechanisms on the doors.

The enclosures held less floor space than any established detention standard: ICE's own minimum for a single-occupant room is 37 square feet, and federal prison solitary-confinement cells run about 84 square feet. General-population housing fared little better, with the report finding as little as 28 square feet per detainee against the 75 square feet Florida's own Model Jail Standards require. Inspectors also documented food freezers held at 10-14°F, drinking-water containers and personal cups lacking proper sanitation, insect infestation in shower facilities where access was limited to three times weekly, and detainees in the Special Management Unit without operable phones or direct access to legal materials.

The inspection, conducted in January 2026 under OIG's congressional mandate to review detention facilities, marked the first time a government agency confirmed conditions Amnesty International had already alleged after touring the facility and interviewing detainees, including accounts of people shackled in an outdoor "box" for hours with little water or shelter from heat and insects. DHS, in a signed response, denied it had operational authority over the facility, saying ICE held no contract to run its day-to-day operations and that its Section 287(g) delegation to Florida did not extend to physical operations. OIG's report countered that all detainees were nonetheless in ICE custody, that ICE personnel and postings were present on site, and that every detainee received an ICE handbook identifying the facility as "a facility of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement." FEMA had obligated $608.4 million to Florida for the facility, which closed in June 2026.