WASHINGTON — Some immigrants detained at Florida’s now-shuttered “Alligator Alcatraz” were confined in outdoor cages only slightly larger than telephone booths for more than an hour at a time, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.The watchdog report marks the first time a government agency has confirmed the existence of the cramped cages at the South Florida Detention Facility.Amnesty International found in a report published in December, based on interviews with detainees and a tour of the facility, that the cages were used to punish detainees and amounted to torture, sparking a congressional probe.The inspector general’s findings don’t go as far, but the report says “the use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment.”The DHS watchdog findings are a rare instance when a federal inspector general has publicly criticized the Trump administration.
Since he returned to office in 2025, President Donald Trump has fired at least 18 inspectors general, who operate within federal agencies but are tasked with conducting objective audits and investigating allegations of waste, fraud and abuse of power.The migrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Fla.Alon Skuy / Getty Images fileHomeland Security’s inspector general, Joseph Cuffari, is one of the few Cabinet-level inspectors general who wasn’t fired in the purge.
DHS IG inspectors visited the facility in January as part of its Congressional mandate to inspect detention facilities.The inspector general’s report found the “small metal enclosures” were roughly 4-by-4, or 16 square feet, and facility staff members described them as “calming areas” for “detainees to de-escalate and have time alone.”The facility also had indoor cages that measured 18 square feet, the report says.
The cages are less than half the size of the smallest spaces that people are sup...