Detainees at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ facing 'harrowing human rights violations', new report alleges

Friday, December 5, 2025 -A new report by Amnesty International paints a shocking picture of conditions at Alligator Alcatraz, a controversial immigration‑detention facility in Florida. 

According to the findings, detainees were shackled and forced into a 2‑foot‑high metal cage — known among inmates as “the box” — where they were left outside without water for up to 24 hours. 

Such treatment, used even for trivial or nonexistent offenses, amounts to what Amnesty describes as “cruel, inhuman and degrading,” and in some cases, qualifies as torture.

Beyond physical punishment, the report documents pervasive neglect and misery: overflowing toilets excreting into sleeping areas, persistent insect infestations, inadequate nutrition and water, poor or absent medical care, nonstop bright lighting, and no privacy — even cameras above toilet areas. 

Many detainees reportedly receive only a single meal a day, sometimes infested with worms, and are rarely allowed showers.

Compounding the abuse is a lack of oversight and accountability: the facility operates outside standard federal tracking and detainee‑locator systems, making it difficult for families or legal representatives to monitor detainees’ whereabouts — effectively creating a system of incommunicado detention that Amnesty calls “enforced disappearances.” 

The report concludes that such inhumane and dehumanizing practices demand immediate action — namely, the closure of Alligator Alcatraz and an end to the mass detention and criminalization of migrants under the current regime.