“We are held in cells measuring 93 square metres,” says one person who has been through the Alcatraz Crocodile Detention Camp. “There are 32 people in each cell and there are 8 cells inside the tent. The lights are like those in the stadium; they are always on, never going off or dimming. It is very cold, the air conditioning is very strong. There are a lot of mosquitoes.”
A report published by Amnesty International on Thursday following a trip to South Florida in September 2025 documents the impact of the Trump administration’s immigration policies and their impact on human rights in relation to mass detention, deportation, fair trial and detention conditions since US President Donald Trump took office on 20 January 2025.
“We had no access to any kind of media. No televisions or newspapers. We had no possibility to practice our religion; no holy books. We were locked in cells almost 24 hours a day. We could not receive visits, not even from our lawyers or families,” explains one Alcatraz alligator captive. Another points out: “There are three toilets in each cell. There is no privacy, there are cameras above the toilets. The toilets became very clogged and overflowed. I saw a big snake. A friend of mine was bitten by a spider that laid eggs inside it.”
“These findings confirm the existence of a deliberate system set up to punish, dehumanize and mask detainees,” says Anna Baker, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Americas. “Immigration law enforcement cannot operate outside the rule of law or absolve themselves of compliance with human rights standards. What we are seeing in Florida should concern the entire region.”
The investigation focuses on detention conditions at the Chrome North Services Processing Center (CROM) and the Everglades Detention Center, also known as Alligator Alcatraz. Research shows that the anti-immigrant and anti-asylum policies of the federal government and the state of Florida, led by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, instill widespread fear in communities of immigrants, asylum seekers and people in mixed situations.
“The increasing involvement of state and local authorities in enforcing federal immigration law through agreements with ICE – called 287(g) – has led to an expansion of the system of mass arbitrary detention of asylum seekers and migrants, in violation of US international human rights obligations,” says Amnesty International. “Under these policies and agreements, detention of asylum seekers and migrants is the rule, not the exception.”
Krum is an ICE detention center located in Miami-Dade County, on the edge of the Everglades. The center’s operations are managed by Akima Global Services, LLC, which has been managing the facility for more than a decade. Krome serves as a short-term processing center and as a detention center for migrants and asylum seekers. This hybrid function has increased the number of people detained at the centre, leading to a deterioration in detention conditions.
Over the course of decades, organizations, lawyers, and service providers have exposed conditions at Krome, including severe overcrowding, chronic medical neglect linked to multiple deaths in custody, degrading and abusive treatment, and procedural deficiencies that undermine people’s ability to access legal advice and due process.
In 2025, the center faced increased scrutiny after reports of severe overcrowding and numerous deaths. “Amnesty International documented delays in admission procedures, overcrowding in temporary processing areas, inadequate and inaccessible medical care, disturbing disciplinary practices, including the prolonged use of solitary confinement, and difficulties accessing legal representation and due process in Krome,” the report explains.
For its part, Alligator Alcatraz opened its doors in July 2025 and is capable of holding about 3,000 people. The center is located in the Everglades, one of the most environmentally sensitive areas in Florida. Alcatraz is the first state-owned and operated immigration detention center in the United States, Florida in this case.
“As a result, not only is there no federal oversight of the facility, it is also not integrated into ICE’s systems or databases,” Amnesty International explains. “The absence of registration or tracking mechanisms for persons detained at Allegator Alcatraz facilitates incommunicado detention and constitutes enforced disappearance when the whereabouts of the person detained there are unknown, and they are not permitted to contact their lawyers. Persons detained at the facility face barriers to access to legal and procedural representation and guarantees.
Amnesty International’s investigation finds that people arbitrarily detained at Alcatraz “are held in inhumane and unsanitary conditions, including toilets overflowing with faeces that leak into sleeping areas, limited access to showers, exposure to vermin without protective measures, lights on 24 hours a day, poor quality food and water, and lack of privacy.”
The report says: “Interviewees said that access to medical care was irregular, inadequate or completely denied, putting people at serious risk of physical and mental harm. People reported that they were always handcuffed when outside their cells. Other people were subjected to treatment amounting to torture, such as being confined to a cell.” fund“, described as a 60cm x 60cm cage-like structure, where people are confined as punishment – sometimes for hours, exposed to the elements and with barely any water – with their feet shackled to the floor.”
Another interviewee said: “What happened over the summer is horrific. People were held outdoors, shackled and exposed to mosquitoes that transmit diseases. They were locked in cells without adequate access to basic services. The toilets were overcrowded and they were only allowed to shower once a week, if that. The conditions are terrible.”
Another explains: “I have asthma and use an inhaler. I was detained at Alcatraz for 11 days and they never gave me one. I struggled a lot with the changes from hot to cold because the power was constantly going out. The medical area is not working. People did not receive their medication. If they needed medication at 8pm, they would give it to them at 2am.”
Another testimony explains: “When I was on the Alligator Alcatraz, someone died. I heard a lot of screaming. But there’s no way to know what actually happened to that person because we’re not registered with the ICE system.”
Therefore, Amnesty International considers that the detention conditions in both facilities amount to “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The prolonged use of solitary confinement in Krome and the use of… fund In Alcatraz Crocodile reaches the level of torture.
“These vile and disgusting conditions at Algator Alcatraz prison reflect a pattern of deliberate neglect designed to dehumanize and punish those detained there,” said Amy Fisher, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International USA. “Where is the oversight?”
According to data from Amnesty International, Alligator Alcatraz has already absorbed more than $360 million in contracts issued by the state of Florida, and is expected to need approximately $450 million annually to operate once it is fully operational.
Funding for its construction and operation comes from the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) at the governor’s discretion, under emergency procurement powers typically reserved for natural disasters.
Amnesty International has documented the Florida government cutting resources for essential social emergency management programs, with discretionary funds allocated from FDEM to fund the construction and operation of the Alligator Alcatraz. It also documented the routine and prolonged use of shackles on detained migrants, whether in detention centers or during transfer between centres, “which constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and may amount to torture or other ill-treatment.”
Hence, the organization urges the Florida government to close Alligator Alcatraz, “ban the use of any state-run immigration detention center, end abuse of emergency powers, halt all no-bid procurement, and redirect detention funds toward essential health care, housing, and disaster relief programs.” Furthermore, the resolution calls on the US government to “end its cruel mechanism of mass immigration detention and deportation, stop criminalizing immigration, prohibit the use of state centers for immigration detention, ensure that all deaths, abuses, and allegations of torture in detention are thoroughly investigated, and comply with international human rights law and standards.”