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DHS watchdog: ICE held at least 79 detainees in phone-booth-sized metal cages at Florida camp
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A new report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) revealed that at least 79 immigrant detainees were held in two outdoor metal cages, roughly the size of a phone booth, at the Alligator Alcatraz soft-sided detention camp in the Florida Everglades between July 2025 and January 2026. Staff called the enclosures 'calming areas' and claimed they were never locked, but the OIG found locking mechanisms on both cages. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed the cages were used for 'disciplinary issues, crisis intervention, housing changes, and conflicts among detainees.' The OIG documented one instance where a detainee who spent 26 minutes in a cage had 'failed to comply with a lawful command.' Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Dick Durbin had previously raised concerns about a similar structure called 'the box' where detainees were allegedly shackled in stress positions for hours. The OIG could not confirm those specific claims but stated the use of the cages was 'highly unconventional' and 'unprecedented among ICE facilities,' posing significant risks to detainee health and well-being. The facility has been the subject of numerous reports of inhumane conditions including flooding, worm-infested food, and lack of running water.
Source report
Staff at Alligator Alcatraz called them "calming areas." They were really cages.
A new report released Monday revealed that the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) discovered two metal cages, roughly the size of a phone booth, where immigrant detainees were held at Alligator Alcatraz, the Trump administration's soft-sided detention camp in the Florida Everglades.
Key Findings
- Between the camp's hasty construction in July 2025 and its official closure in January 2026, at least 79 detainees were held in these small outdoor cages.
- Detainees spent between seven minutes and two hours in the enclosures, each measuring 4 feet 3 inches wide and 7 feet 9 inches tall.
- Staff claimed detainees voluntarily requested time in these so-called "calming areas" and that the cages were never locked. Both cages, however, included locking mechanisms.
Disciplinary Use
The OIG found one instance in which a "calming area" may have been used as a disciplinary tool. Documentation noted that one detainee who spent 26 minutes in a small metal enclosure had "failed to comply with a lawful command."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that the cages were used for "disciplinary issues, crisis intervention, housing changes, and conflicts among detainees," according to the report.
Congressional Concerns
In March, Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Dick Durbin wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and then-ICE Director Todd Lyons expressing concerns that immigrants were being kept in a small structure called "the box," where they were "held in stress positions with hands and feet tightly shackled for hours at a time, in direct sunlight with no access to food or water."
The OIG could not confirm these claims but stated that the use of these cages was "highly unconventional" and did not align with standards for humane treatment.
OIG Statement
"Use of these small metal enclosures for any reason is unprecedented among ICE facilities inspected by OIG. Confining individuals in small metal enclosures for any reason presents significant risks to detainee health and well-being."
Broader Conditions at Alligator Alcatraz
Alligator Alcatraz has been the source of dozens of disturbing reports of inhumane treatment. Detainees at the soft-sided facility reported:
- Flooding in the tents
- Worm-infested food
- Behemoth bugs
- No access to running water
- Widespread violations of immigrants' legal rights
A former corrections officer at Alligator Alcatraz previously claimed that detainees were being kept in a "human-sized kennel." One detainee told CBS News: "We're human beings; we're not dogs. We're like rats in an experiment."
Read more: "Closing a Detention Center Is Rarely a Single Strike. It's a Siege."
Source
The New RepublicWestern
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DHS watchdog finds ICE used phone booth-sized cages to hold 79 detainees at Florida camp