Migrants were locked in mesh mini-cells in Florida, an “unprecedented” practice in the United States
Migrants were temporarily placed in wire mesh mini-cells the size of telephone booths in the now-closed detention center dubbed the “alcatraz of alligators,” reports an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigation, identifying a practice “unprecedented” in the United States.
This detention center nicknamed the “Alcatraz of alligators”, a combination of references to local wildlife and the famous prison island in San Francisco Bay, operated for a year in Florida, between July 2025 and June 2026. The DHS General Inspectorate conducted an unannounced visit there on January 21, 2026.
In her report dated Friday, she explains that between July 17, 2025 and January 18, 2026, 79 people were confined in individual mesh cells with a “floor space of approximately 1.67 m2 » for a period “ranging from a few minutes to almost two hours”.
“Unprecedented”
“The use of these small mesh cells, whatever the reason, is unprecedented in the detention centers inspected by the general inspectorate”observes the internal investigation. Y “locking up individuals poses significant risks to the health and well-being of those detained”she explains. “The use of this type of restricted spaces does not comply with the standards of respect for human dignity”she insists.
According to the report, center staff describe these wire-mesh cells, approximately 1.30 meters on a side and 2.40 meters high, as “calm spaces”designed for “allow inmates to calm down and spend some time alone”. He specifies that the migrants were not locked there, although the investigators noted the presence of lock mechanisms. A number of other shortcomings have been identified, including overcrowded dormitories, lack of medical care and poor hygiene conditions.
Donald Trump visited the “Alcatraz of alligators” just before it was put into service in the summer of 2025. The center, made of windowless white canvas pavilions, had just been hastily set up on an abandoned airfield in the middle of the swampy Everglades region. “We have a lot of cops in the form of alligators”the American president mocked.
Several migrants had testified to Agence France-Presse (AFP) about appalling detention conditions.
