Alligator Alcatraz Detainees Reveal Chaotic Conditions

Newsweek

3 days ago

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Allegations of medical neglect and verbal abuse are mounting about life inside Alligator Alcatraz, the Florida immigrant detention center.
Newsweek spoke with the attorney of one detainee and the friend of another, both of whom described harrowing conditions inside the remote Everglades facility.
Attorney Phillip Arroyo said his client, a longtime U.S. resident and DACA recipient, was transferred to the prison despite facing only a minor traffic infraction, and was then denied medical care after falling ill. Arroyo withheld his client's identity, citing concerns about possible retaliation. He received a call from his client who described the conditions inside the facility.
Kimberly Gibson, the mother of Shaunti Gibson, whose friend Braydon Cash-Brown is also detained there, said Cash-Brown was held for hours without food or water, given only half a cup to drink on arrival, and became sick after consuming what he believed was tainted water.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis via email on Thursday.
The Context
The remote detention facility is expected to cost Florida approximately $450 million annually to operate. The proposal comes as President Donald Trump's administration looks to conduct what they describe as the largest mass deportations operation in United States history. The administration has said the detention center is the state of Florida's responsibility.
What To Know
Newsweek has heard several allegations of squalid, overcrowded, and inhumane conditions inside the facility from two people who spoke with detainees inside the facility.
Arroyo received a call from his client, who told him that the lights are kept on around the clock at the facility, making it nearly impossible to sleep. He described overflowing toilets, minimal food and water, and verbal intimidation from guards.
Arroyo told Newsweek that the food at the facility allegedly contained insects or maggots. Some detainees said they were denied medical treatment after falling ill.
One individual allegedly suffered food poisoning and required hospitalization, according to Arroyo's client.
Some guards have allegedly used racial slurs when addressing detainees, according to Arroyo's client. Several facility phones also remain broken, the client reported during a phone call.
Migrant detention facility Alligator Alcatraz, located in the Florida Everglades, as seen on July 4, 2025.
Migrant detention facility Alligator Alcatraz, located in the Florida Everglades, as seen on July 4, 2025.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Friends of Braydon Cash-Brown, 21, who is currently detained in the facility, have expressed concerns over the harsh conditions inside the detention center.
"My friend was in the process of fixing his papers and already had a court date set. He was doing everything the right way, following the legal process, but that didn't stop ICE from detaining him," Brown's friend, Shaunti Gibson, wrote in a social media post.
ICE placed a second 48-hour hold on Brown before transferring him to a jail facility in Miramar, which he was told was designated for immigration detainees, according to the Gibson family.
He described to the family overcrowded conditions with approximately 15 people held in a small room, and detainees sleeping on the floor. He said the facility had overwhelming odors and unsanitary conditions, according to the Gibson family.
Later, he was transported at approximately 1 a.m. to the Everglades, where he claims detainees were kept on a bus for several hours without food or water, according to Shaunti's mother, Kimberly Gibson.
Requests for water and to have their handcuffs loosened were allegedly ignored for up to 12 hours, she said.
"When he was taken inside, he said the toilets weren't flushing, it was hot, and the lights were flickering off and on because the generators weren't working properly. He was then given a half cup of water. That's it," Kimberly Gibson told Newsweek in a statement.
Cash-Brown described the guards as aggressive, Gibson said, and claimed they made threatening remarks such as, "What are you looking at?" and, "You'll soon find out."
"The guards are very intimidating," Gibson said.
Cash-Brown told the Gibson family he had no access to showers or freely available drinking water, with only small amounts provided.
The food was minimal, and he became ill after drinking water that had a strange taste and came in containers with broken seals, Gibson said. He claimed that he had not received any medical attention despite feeling unwell and experiencing throat pain and hoarseness.
Other detainees have made similar allegations. They claim that several phones in the facility are broken, limiting communication with legal representatives and family.
Arroyo's client, a man in his 30s, is a DACA recipient who has been in the country for two decades, the Miami Herald first reported.
"Our client was initially arrested for allegedly driving with a suspended license. However, we were able to present evidence to the State of Florida that he in fact has a valid license. As a result, the State has agreed to reduce the case to a civil traffic infraction," Arroyo told Newsweek.
"Despite this resolution, he was inexplicably transferred to Alligator Alcatraz—a facility that, according to President Trump, was reserved for the 'worst of the worst.'"
The facility operates under the 287(g) program, a partnership that allows local authorities to enforce federal immigration laws by detaining migrants on behalf of ICE. However, it remains unclear when or whether individuals held at the facility will be transferred to ICE custody for deportation.
The projected cost is approximately $245 per bed per day, totaling roughly $450 million in operating expenses for the first year. Florida officials say they plan to seek federal reimbursement from the DHS, which will use FEMA funds.
Meanwhile, the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times obtained a list of more than 700 people who have been detained or appear to be scheduled to be sent to the state-run immigration detention facility.
What People Are Saying
Florida-based attorney Raul Gastesi, a partner at Gastesi, Lopez, Mestre & Cobiella, told Newsweek: "Detaining people in the harsh climate of the Florida Everglades with extreme heat, relentless mosquitoes, and inadequate living conditions is not something we should be proud of as Americans.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement: "Under President Trump's leadership, we are working at turbo speed to deliver cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people's mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens."