22-07-2025
Alligator Alcatraz is overlit, mosquito-filled nightmare where prisoners rarely get to shower, inmate says
A migrant held at Florida 's controversial Alligator Alcatraz detention center described dozens of inmates being corralled inside cages at the disorienting, mosquito-infested facility.
Juan Palma, 48, who has spent more than two weeks at the center in the Florida Everglades, told NBC6 that the lights stay on around the clock, leaving him clueless as to the time of day.
The Cuban migrant said that he and 32 other people live in what he described as a cage and that they are only allowed to shower every three or four days.
'I feel like my life is in danger,' Palma said of the 'torturous' conditions.
'There are too many mosquitos, you can't sleep,' he added.
He fears that he will be sent to an unknown country, as Cuba doesn't always take back migrants.
Palma, whose criminal record includes charges of grand theft, credit forgery and battery, is struggling to fight his deportation order, his wife Yanet Lopez told NBC News.
Lopez said that it was almost as if her husband ceased to exist apart from his ability to call her.
'We are stressed, depressed, and the situation we are experiencing is very difficult,' Lopez said.
The newly constructed detention center has garnered significant criticism for its allegedly abhorrent state.
Fernando Artese, 63, an undocumented immigrant from Argentina, was thrown in the facility after he was arrested for driving with a suspended license.
He had lived in the US for more than a decade and was taken into custody on July 3 on a warrant linked to a March charge for driving without a license.
Artese described the conditions at the facility as harsh and unsanitary, citing extreme temperature swings, mosquito infestations, and a lack of privacy.
He also reported that detainees had to handle human waste after toilets malfunctioned, the Miami New Times reported.
He likened the site to a 'Hispanic concentration camp' full of mostly working-class migrants.
He added that he had only three showers since arriving at the facility.
President Donald Trump said he 'couldn't care less' that the center was controversial.
He toured the center on July 1, praising its remote, high-security design.
Trump looked visibly pleased with the setup during his tour - as he was accompanied on by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem - observing stacks of bunk beds behind chain-linked fencing inside an air conditioned tent in a Florida swamp.
The president promised that the center would house what he called 'the most menacing migrants, the most vicious people on the planet.'
'We're surrounded by miles of swamp land and the only way out is deportation,' Trump said.
He also said he'd like to see similar facilities in 'many states,' adding Florida would getting a second one 'and probably a couple more.'
Stephanie Hartman, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Emergency Management, has since defended the new facility, claiming the allegations against the center are 'completely false.'
'Those allegations are completely false. The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order,' Hartman wrote in an email to the Miami New Times.
'Detainees have access to potable water from on-site tanks refilled by 6,000-gallon trucks. Each individual is issued a personal cup they can refill at any time, and bottled water is provided at meals. Tanks are regularly sanitized, flushed, and tested to ensure water quality. Full-size showers are available daily with no restriction on bathing water.
'All wastewater is hard-pumped into 22,000-gallon frac tanks, maintained below 50 percent capacity and pumped daily to minimize transfers. Tanks, hoses, and connections are fully contained to prevent spills and are regularly inspected to ensure zero environmental impact,' the statement concluded.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management had quickly constructed the controversial site, which officials have said will detain more than 3,000 people.
'Alligator Alcatraz, and other facilities like it, will give us the capability to lock up some of the worst scumbags who entered our country under the previous administration,' U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said in a June 30 press release.
