Torture and Enforced Disappearances at 'Alligator Alcatraz' and Krome Detention Centers
Florida immigration detention centers are sites of documented torture including a punitive cage device, prolonged solitary confinement, unsanitary conditions, and enforced disappearances facilitated by the absence of any tracking system. At least six people died in Florida ICE facilities since October 2024.
Amnesty International documented systematic torture, enforced disappearances, and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment at the Everglades Detention Facility ('Alligator Alcatraz') and Krome North Service Processing Center in Florida. Detainees were held in a 2x2 foot cage called 'the box,' subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, and held incommunicado without registration or tracking, constituting enforced disappearance.
Executive summary
What this record documents
- Amnesty International conducted a research trip to southern Florida in September 2025 and published findings in December 2025 documenting systematic human rights violations at two immigration detention facilities
- 'Alligator Alcatraz' (Everglades Detention Facility) operates OUTSIDE federal oversight, without the basic tracking systems used in ICE facilities — the absence of registration or tracking mechanisms facilitates incommunicado detention constituting enforced disappearance
- Detainees are placed in 'the box' — a 2x2 foot cage-like structure where they are restrained with hands and feet attached to the ground, sometimes for hours, exposed to the elements with minimal water — which Amnesty concluded amounts to torture
- Prolonged solitary confinement at Krome (exceeding 15 consecutive days per Nelson Mandela Rules) also amounts to torture under international law
- Conditions include overflowing toilets with fecal matter seeping into sleeping areas, limited access to showers, constant 24-hour lighting, exposure to insects, poor quality food and water, and lack of privacy
Timeline
Sequence of events
January 20, 2025
Administration escalates immigration enforcement
Trump administration takes office and begins escalating immigration enforcement operations in Florida.
September 1, 2025
Amnesty International conducts on-site research
Amnesty International researchers visit southern Florida detention facilities for investigation.
December 4, 2025
Amnesty publishes torture report
Amnesty International publishes 'Torture and Enforced Disappearances in the Sunshine State' documenting systematic abuses.
December 22, 2025
Independent verification
Snopes independently verifies and reports on Amnesty International's findings.
Analysis
Reporting, legal context, and impact
Overview
In December 2025, Amnesty International published the results of a September 2025 research trip to two immigration detention facilities in southern Florida: the Everglades Detention Facility, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," and the Krome North Service Processing Center. The investigation documented treatment that meets the international legal definition of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and enforced disappearance.
The Box
The most severe finding involves a punitive device at Alligator Alcatraz called "the box" — a 2x2 foot cage-like structure in which detainees are restrained with their hands and feet attached to the ground. People are placed in the box for hours at a time, exposed to the elements with minimal water. Under established international law standards, including the Nelson Mandela Rules and Convention Against Torture, this practice constitutes torture.
Enforced Disappearances
Alligator Alcatraz operates entirely outside federal oversight. Unlike ICE facilities, it has no registration or tracking systems for detainees. When the whereabouts of a detained person are denied to their family and they are prevented from contacting their lawyer, this meets the legal definition of enforced disappearance under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance — a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute.
Expert Assessment
Amnesty International concluded that the use of prolonged solitary confinement at Krome and the use of "the box" at Alligator Alcatraz amount to torture or other ill-treatment. The organization called for the immediate closure of Alligator Alcatraz and prohibition of any state-run immigration detention in Florida.
Source documents
Primary records
Full Amnesty International Report (PDF)
Amnesty International USA Report Page
Linked reporting
Reporting and secondary sources
Related records