A damning new report from Amnesty International has levelled explosive allegations of "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" at a notorious Florida immigration detention centre known as "Alligator Alcatraz". The findings, published on Thursday, depict a facility where detainees face conditions that in some cases may amount to torture.
Shackled in 'The Box': Allegations of Cruel Punishment
The report, compiled from detainee interviews and a site visit, centres on the alleged use of a punitive outdoor cage. Detainees refer to the structure as "the box"—a metal enclosure roughly two feet high where individuals are shackled and left exposed to the harsh south Florida sun and humidity for up to a full day at a time, often without water.
"One time, two people in my cell were calling out to the guards telling them that I needed my medication," one detainee told Amnesty. "Ten guards rushed into the cell and threw them to the ground. They were taken to the 'box' and punished just for trying to help me." The report asserts that guards use this cage for the arbitrary punishment of minor or non-existent infractions.
Systemic Neglect Across Two Facilities
Amnesty's investigation extends beyond the state-run Everglades camp—dubbed Alligator Alcatraz—to include the federally contracted Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami. The group documents a pattern of alarming conditions at both sites.
At Alligator Alcatraz, which opened in July 2025 following a visit from Donald Trump, detainees described unsanitary conditions with overflowing toilets, exposure to insects, 24-hour lighting, poor quality food and water, and a consistent lack of privacy. Access to medical care was reported as "inconsistent, inadequate, or denied altogether."
The situation at Krome was described as similarly "chaotic," with Amnesty noting extreme overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and "alarming" disciplinary practices including prolonged solitary confinement. The report echoes a separate July finding by Human Rights Watch, which claimed detainees were forced to kneel to eat food "like dogs."
Official Denials and Legal Battles
The Florida Department of Emergency Management (DEM), which operates Alligator Alcatraz independently of federal ICE oversight, has consistently denied mistreatment of migrants. Molly Best, press secretary to Governor Ron DeSantis, dismissed the Amnesty report as "nothing more than a politically motivated attack" and labelled its allegations "fabrications."
Despite these denials, the remote camp quickly gained a reputation for harsh conditions. A federal judge ordered it closed in August 2025 after environmental lawsuits, but two Trump-appointed appellate judges reinstated its operations by October. The facility is uniquely funded by a $608 million reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Florida taxpayers.
Amnesty criticises the lack of federal oversight and basic tracking systems at Alligator Alcatraz, arguing it facilitates "enforced disappearances" as families and lawyers lose track of detainees transferred there. The group's report concludes with urgent recommendations, calling for the camp's closure and an end to the "criminalization of migration."
"These findings are a wake-up call," said Mary Kapron of Amnesty International. "The treatment of people inside these immigrant detention centers is cruelty, hard stop. Federal and state officials must act immediately to end this human rights crisis."
