DHS Watchdog Finds 79 Migrants Held in 18-Sq-Ft Cages at Florida Detention Site

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 14

A surprise January inspection found 79 immigrants were placed in roughly 18-square-foot outdoor metal cages at Florida's now-closed "Alligator Alcatraz," sometimes for nearly two hours and at least once as punishment.
The DHS inspector general called the practice unprecedented and dangerous, saying the facility also failed standards on hygiene, medical care, food, health and safety.
Inspectors said detainees faced cramped housing, bug-infested showers limited to three times a week, and inadequate access to clean drinking water or ways to clean their cups.
DHS told the watchdog that Florida controlled day-to-day operations, though the state-built Everglades facility was federally funded and created under Governor Ron DeSantis's executive order.
The findings deepen scrutiny of a detention center civil-rights groups had long condemned as inhumane before DeSantis closed it in June as a temporary site.

Sources

Left100%

BBC.com27d ago

OIG Finds Immigrants Held in Outdoor Cages at Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz"

The New York Times27d ago

DHS Report: Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" Used Cages as "Calming Areas," Failed Standards

The Washington Post27d ago

DHS Watchdog Report: Immigrants Held in Small Cages, Cramped Conditions at Florida Detention Center

6 Sources

What hidden systemic failures allowed the use of metal cages and deplorable living conditions to persist inside the Everglades center?

Will the fragile Everglades ecosystem ever fully recover from the undocumented environmental damage left behind by this massive, short-lived facility?