Florida Democrats decry Alligator Alcatraz report detailing cage use

Juan Carlos Chavez, Tampa Bay Times on Sep 15, 2026

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Florida Democratic members of Congress sent a letter Tuesday to state and federal officials seeking more information about findings in a recent report that people held at the now shuttered immigrant detention site known as Alligator Alcatraz were sometimes kept in small metal cages and subjected to other inhumane treatment.

The letter said those responsible “must be held accountable” and make sure that “nothing like this happens again in Florida.”

The letter was sent to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Jared Perdue.

“This is not how America should treat human beings in our custody, regardless of their immigration status. We can enforce our laws without abandoning basic human dignity,” the letter said.

The letter was signed by all seven Democratic members of Florida’s congressional delegation: Debbie Wasserman Schultz of South Florida, Kathy Castor of Tampa, Frederica Wilson of Miami, Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach, Darren Soto of Orlando, Jared Moskowitz of Coral Springs and Maxwell Frost of Orlando.

“Many of us conducted oversight inspections at this facility, which was constructed and operated illegally, using over $1 billion in Florida taxpayer funds designated for responding to emergencies like hurricanes,” the letter said. “We witnessed and exposed horrific, inhumane detention conditions that shocked the conscience of our State.”

The authors of the letter indicated that members of the delegation had inquired about detainees reporting the use of “punishment cages” and were told by Homeland Security and state Emergency Management employees the allegations were “categorically false.”

The letter came in response to a report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General that found immigration detainees were held for up to two hours in small metal enclosures used as “calming areas,” a practice the report called “unprecedented” among detention facilities inspected by the office.

According to the report, 79 detainees were confined in those cages. The report was based on records from mid-July 2025 to mid-January and an unannounced inspection at the end of that month.

“In a nation of laws, there must be consequences when elected officials and their appointees rob taxpayer funds to inflict environmental damage, violate Constitutional protections, and commit acts of torture in our backyard,” the letter said.

The letter concluded by asking for responses to five questions, including how many other detention sited in Florida used “isolation” in small metal cages “as a punitive or coercive measure” and whether contractors involved in the detention site “retained and preserved” evidence and other records that may be relevant to future investigations.

“We hope that you will take immediate action to bring these abusive practices to an end and begin repairing the damage you have inflicted on our neighbors, our beloved Everglades, and the State of Florida,” the letter said.

The detention center opened in July last year and was shut down in late June. It has remained at the center of concerns over hundreds of millions of dollars spent to operate it.

On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said the site met federal detention standards used under previous administrations. The department called allegations of mistreatment “false.” At a Lakeland news conference, DeSantis said he hadn’t read the report.