Alligator Alcatraz Detainees Tortured in Small ‘Box,’ Amnesty International Says

Since Florida opened the controversial Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention site in the middle of the Everglades this past summer, migrants have reported inhumane and unsanitary conditions, including toilets overflowing with feces, food infested with maggots, lack of access to attorneys, and inadequate medical care, all among “stadium lights” that remain on permanently.

But while detainees and advocates have long alleged harsh conditions at the remote facility, a new report suggests they may be far worse than previously known — in some cases rising to the level of “torture.”

A new report from Amnesty International — based on a September 2025 visit to Miami, in which researchers interviewed local human rights groups, detained migrants, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials — found that Alligator Alcatraz detainees had faced punishment and torture by being locked for hours at a time in what detainees described as a a two-by-two-foot, cage-like structure in the facility’s yard, known as the “box.” (A previous WLRN article about the “box” described the structure as a four-by-four-foot square.)

“The use of the ‘box’ as a form of punishment at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ constitutes torture,” the 61-page report from the international human rights group reads.

Four men interviewed by Amnesty explained how officials arbitrarily sent migrants to the “box” as punishment, shackling their hands and feet to the ground inside the cramped cage. The report describes the box as “an extremely small space that prevents sitting, lying, or changing position,” which, combined with high heat and humidity, a lack of water and sanitation, and exposure to harsh weather and insects, is “likely to cause severe physical pain and suffering.”

The men told Amnesty that detainees were often left inside for hours at a time. According to the report, one man said he saw a fellow detainee locked in the structure for an entire day.

“People ended up in the ‘box’ just for asking guards for anything,” the report reads. “I saw a guy who was put in it for an entire day.”

Another detainee described how officials used the box arbitrarily to punish those seeking help.

“One time, two people in my cell were calling out to the guards, telling them that I needed my medication. Ten guards rushed into the cell and threw them to the ground,” he told Amnesty, according to the report. “They were taken to the ‘box’ and punished just for trying to help me.”

Citing the United Nations (UN) Convention against Torture, the report notes that an act qualifies as torture if it meets four criteria: intent, infliction of severe physical or mental pain or suffering, a purpose such as coercion or intimidation, and a degree of official involvement.

Among other recommendations made to the state of Florida, Amnesty International calls on the state to “immediately end any use of outdoor punitive confinement (‘the box’) or other disciplinary practices that constitute torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.”

A spokesperson for Florida’s Department of Emergency Management, the state agency that has operated the facility, did not respond to New Times‘ request for comment.

Molly Best, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, called the allegations “fabrications.”

“In fact, running these allegations without any evidence whatsoever could jeopardize the safety and security of our staff and those being housed at Alligator Alcatraz,” Best wrote in an email to New Times. An email requesting evidence to the contrary remained unanswered at the time of this reporting.

It’s still unclear how many people are currently detained at the facility, which was originally designed to hold several thousand. By late August — after a court ordered the state to dismantle the site following an environmental lawsuit — the Miami Herald reported that nearly two-thirds of the more than 1,800 men held there in July had effectively vanished from any official record after leaving Alligator Alcatraz.

The Herald noted that some of the men who couldn’t be located may still be at the facility because, unlike most immigration detention centers, Alligator Alcatraz is state-run, and its detainees often do not appear in ICE’s database. Despite this lack of transparency, Best advised that “questions related to individuals housed at Alligator Alcatraz” be directed to ICE, which did not return an emailed request for comment.

Florida also offers no way to identify individuals detained at the facility.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.