Additional Coverage:
- Alligator Alcatraz detainees face ‘harrowing human rights violations’, new report alleges (themirror.com)
“Alligator Alcatraz” Under Fire: Amnesty International Alleges “Torture” and “Deliberate Neglect” at Florida Detention Center
EVERGLADES, FL – A recent report from human rights organization Amnesty International has cast a harsh spotlight on the Everglades Detention Center, more commonly known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” detailing what it describes as “horrific conditions” and even allegations of “torture” endured by detainees.
Released on Thursday, the report claims the immigration detention facility, uniquely operated by the state of Florida rather than the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has consistently engaged in practices the non-profit labels as “human rights violations.” A critical concern highlighted is that the state’s operation of the facility often means detainees are not recorded in standard Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) databases. This absence of documentation makes it exceedingly difficult for families and legal counsel to track detainees’ whereabouts and maintain contact, effectively causing them to “fall off the radar.”
Amnesty International’s findings paint a grim picture of life inside the center, which it characterizes as a “pattern of deliberate neglect designed to dehumanize and punish those detained there.” The report further alleges these “enforced disappearances” are intentional, aiming to isolate detainees and place them in “incommunicado detention.”
Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Americas, underscored the severity of the findings, stating, “These findings confirm a deliberate system built to punish, dehumanize, and hide the suffering of people in detention. 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.”
Detainees are reportedly forced to sleep in makeshift tents erected earlier this year, enduring constant stadium-like lighting 24 hours a day, a lack of protection from pervasive insects, and inadequate access to clean water and nutritious food. Additionally, reports indicate that showers are permitted only once a week. Amnesty International interviewed numerous migrants and asylum seekers who had been held at the facility.
One former detainee described the living conditions: “We’re locked up in 1000 ft cages. There are 32 people in each cage, and eight cages inside the tent.
The lights are like stadium lights; they’re always on, they’re never turned off or even dimmed. It’s very cold, the air conditioning is very strong.
There are a lot of mosquitoes.”
Another individual recounted disturbing experiences: “There are three toilets in each cage. There’s no privacy; there are cameras above the toilets.
The toilets were clogged a lot and shit overflowed from them. I saw a big snake.
A friend was bitten by a spider that laid eggs inside of him.”
Beyond the unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, the report also details serious allegations of “torture.” This includes a form of punishment where detainees are reportedly confined to a “2×2 foot cage-like structure” for hours at a time.
Amy Fischer, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights with Amnesty International USA, commented on these specific claims: “Other treatment people have endured amounts to torture, including being put in the ‘box’, described as a 2×2 foot cage-like structure people are put in as punishment, sometimes for hours at a time, exposed to the elements with hardly any water, with their feet attached to restraints on the ground.” She added, “These despicable and nauseating conditions at Alligator Alcatraz reflect a pattern of deliberate neglect designed to dehumanize and punish those detained there. This is unreal – where’s the oversight?”
The report also outlined similar allegations of human rights violations at the Krone Detention Center in Miami, Florida, a facility that has previously faced accusations of inhumane treatment by human rights organizations.
As of publication, requests for comment from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ office and the Department of Homeland Security by The Mirror U.S. have not received a response.