DHS tells watchdog Florida, not federal government, ran day-to-day operations
According to the report, between July 2025 and January 2026 the facility kept 79 immigrants in the small metal enclosures, which officials described as “calming areas” for people to “deescalate and have time alone.” They were held there for periods ranging from minutes to nearly two hours, at least once as a disciplinary measure, the OIG said. “The use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment,” the report stated.
Investigators concluded the center also did not comply with a number of standards for hygiene, medical care, food, health and safety. OIG inspectors found immigrants at the facility had to use showers infested with small bugs and were only allowed to do so three times a week. 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,” according to the report. Immigrants at the center also told the OIG that they did not have access to clean drinking water and could not clean the plastic cups from which they drank. Detainees at the facility have previously told the BBC they were denied necessary medication and regular showers and other hygiene measures.
The detention facility was built in 2025 over the course of eight days in the Everglades, a protected wetland known for its alligators. It was established by the state of Florida through an executive order signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, while the federal government paid for operational costs. President Donald Trump toured the Alligator Alcatraz facility last July and once joked that immigrants held there would need to learn “how to run away” from the reptiles — a characterization civil rights groups have decried as inhumane. The OIG, an independent internal watchdog at DHS, conducted a surprise inspection at the detention facility in January. The current inspector general was appointed by Trump during his first term.
In its response included in the investigation report, DHS officials said Florida — not the federal government — had authority over day-to-day operations at the facility. The BBC has contacted DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and DeSantis for comment on the watchdog’s findings.
In June 2026, DeSantis said the facility would close as it was only meant to be temporary. BBC reporting had previously described the facility as “one of the most notorious immigration detention centres in the US.” Separately, a US judge has ordered the shutdown of the detention center, according to BBC coverage of the case.