Inspector general says detainees were held in cramped housing, denied required recreation and daily showers, and placed in small metal enclosures; DHS disputes the extent of its responsibility for the state-run facility
OCHOPEE, Fla. | A Department of Homeland Security watchdog found widespread failures to meet detention standards at Florida’s controversial immigration facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” including inadequate living space, limited recreation and showers, problems involving medical monitoring and food service, and the unprecedented use of small metal enclosures to hold dozens of detainees.
The findings are contained in a final report issued Sept. 11 by the DHS Office of Inspector General following an unannounced Jan. 21 inspection of the Florida Soft-Sided Facility in Ochopee. The facility, which also operated under the name South Florida Detention Facility, began operations in July 2025 and ceased operations in June 2026.
Investigators found an especially fundamental problem: Facility officials could not clearly explain which detention standards governed their operations.
According to the OIG, staff offered inconsistent answers, citing various combinations of ICE’s 2019 National Detention Standards, Florida Model Jail Standards and Florida Department of Corrections requirements. ICE documentation, meanwhile, listed the facility’s contractually obligated standards as “N/A,” while a handbook distributed to detainees said the facility followed ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards and American Correctional Association standards.
