Detainees held at the now-defunct “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center were subject to confinement in outdoor cages slightly bigger than telephone booths for over an hour at a time, a report by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Inspector General (IG) revealed.
The report’s confirmation of the cages supports a previous report from the human rights organization Amnesty International, published in December 2025.
Previous Reports of The "Box"
In that report, Amnesty International uncovered “extreme forms of punishment and torture” in the Everglades detention center, including the cages, which were known as “The Box.”
“There was a ‘box’ outside that was used to punish people,” a detainee told the organization, retelling a story about the time two individuals were taken there after trying to call for medical attention.
“One time, two people in my cell were calling out to the guards and telling them I needed my medication,” the detainee said. “Ten guards rushed into the cell and threw them to the ground.”
“They were taken to the ‘box’ and punished for trying to help me,” the detainee said.
Inspector General Report Details
According to the DHS IG’s report, the outdoor “small metal enclosures” were roughly 4 by 4, or 16 square feet. The center also contained indoor cages that were slightly larger, at 18 square feet.
Facility staff reportedly told inspectors that the cages were “calming areas” for “detainees to de-escalate and have time alone.”
In the report, the IG’s office affirmed that “the use of restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment.”
The cages are less than half the size of the smallest spaces that detainees are supposed to be held in immigration detention centers.
According to ICE guidelines, single-occupant hold rooms should be at least 37 square feet.
Records reviewed by the inspector general indicated that 79 detainees were held in the cages from the center’s opening on July 17, 2025, to Jan. 18, 2026.
NBC News first reported the story.
