An examination of the now-closed detention facility exposed overcrowded quarters, unsanitary conditions, and an unprecedented use of compact metal cells to confine detainees, according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) released on Monday.
Beyond uncovering a host of other breaches of humane detention standards, the DHS OIG audit provides a rare, inside view of the operation at the secretive site and partly corroborates accounts by former detainees reported last year by Amnesty International and several media outlets—that inmates were punished by being placed in a small metal cage known as “the box.”
OIG inspectors conducted an unannounced visit in January to the Florida Soft-Sided Facility (FSSF), the official designation for the site, and determined that the camp used metal cages measuring 4 feet by 7 feet as areas described by officials as calming spaces.
Detainees had previously described being shackled inside the cage for hours in the sun without access to water. The OIG could not confirm or deny those allegations. Nor could it independently verify FSSF officials’ claims that detainees were kept beneath a shaded canopy for no more than two hours and could obtain water upon request.
Regardless, the use of the cages unsettled the OIG. The report characterized their employment as highly unconventional and not in line with standards for humane treatment.
“Use of these small metal enclosures for any purpose is unprecedented among ICE facilities inspected by the OIG,” the audit stated. “Confining individuals in such metal enclosures for any reason presents significant risks to detainee health and wellbeing.”
A policy posted near the small holding cells explained that the goal was to “provide a safe and secure place in general population for detainees to reflect on their behavior choices, manage their emotions, reduce stress, and practice self-directed behavior.”
According to records supplied to the OIG, the FSSF housed 79 detainees in two of these holding cells between July 2025 and January 2026. None were reportedly kept for longer than two hours.
The Florida administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis opened the FSSF last year under an unusual pact with the Trump administration designed to detain federal immigration detainees in a state-operated facility. However, the camp abruptly closed this June, within a year, burdened by enormous operating costs and ongoing allegations of inhumane conditions. Senators Jon Ossoff (D–Ga.) and Dick Durbin (D–Ill.) sent a March letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin requesting further information about the use of “the box” specifically.
A DeSantis spokesperson defended the camp in an interview with The New York Times, stating that the “left-wing media wants to focus on a confinement area for violent criminal aliens who have proven they cannot remain peaceful while awaiting deportation.”
“While it adheres to all federal standards for criminal confinement, we would make it even smaller if we could,” the spokesperson added.
DHS OIG inspectors identified a range of additional violations of detention standards at the FSSF, including overcrowding, inadequate medical care, food-safety breaches, poor hygiene, and insufficient access to legal counsel.
For instance, the report noted that the housing units at the FSSF—large metal cages beneath canvas tents—provided only 28 square feet of living space per detainee, well under the minimum of 75 square feet, effectively creating cramped conditions for those who spent most of their time in their housing areas.
The inquiry also found that detainees could shower only three times weekly, and those showers were infested with bugs.
The ambiguous legal standing of whether Florida or the federal government held jurisdiction over the FSSF has created considerable confusion for detainees and immigration lawyers, enabling both sides to dodge responsibility when convenient.
For example, facility leaders could not determine whether they followed the Florida Model Jail Standards or the National Detention Standards.
In a written reply to the OIG report, DHS asserted that it had delegated authority to Florida, which “retains control of the day-to-day operations of that facility.”
The OIG report noted, however, that new arrivals at the FSSF were issued ICE detainee handbooks stating that the camp was a “detention facility of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” and that ICE personnel were frequently present to supervise and assist staff.
In a conversation with Reason, a DHS spokesperson claimed that conditions at the FSSF were consistent with federal detention standards.
“All detainee facilities are clean, and any allegations of inhumane conditions or excessive use of force are FALSE,” the spokesperson said.
DHS referred further questions to Florida, noting that the facility was managed by the state through the Division of Emergency Management.
Even as the Trump administration pledged to reimburse Florida for the FSSF’s costs via Federal Emergency Management Agency grants, it has thus far avoided lawsuits challenging the detention camp. A federal appellate court ruled in April against environmental groups arguing that the rapid construction of the camp circumvented federal environmental laws. The court determined that the FSSF was state-run and state-operated.
That lawsuit remains active, and environmental groups argue that the OIG report demonstrates substantial federal involvement, contradicting the Trump administration’s assertions in court.
“This report paints a chilling picture of the conditions at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ and the state–federal partnership that enabled them,” Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades—one of the groups pursuing the case—said in a statement. “Building a mass detention center in the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve was a reckless stunt that cost taxpayers more than $1 billion and left scars on a beloved landscape.”
