A Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report found that nearly 80 immigrant detainees at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility were confined in small outdoor metal enclosures, roughly the size of phone booths and internally referred to as 'calming areas,' some for nearly two hours at a time, between July 2025 and January 2026. The report also described cramped, windowless, overcrowded housing units, inadequate access to clean drinking water, infrequent showers, and bug-infested shower facilities, calling the use of the metal enclosures 'unprecedented' among ICE-inspected facilities. The findings corroborated an earlier Amnesty International report detailing shackling and extreme heat exposure, which DeSantis administration officials had previously dismissed as 'fabrications.' DHS and Florida officials disputed characterizations of the facility as inhumane. The facility, which officials said detained and deported more than 21,000 immigrants during about a year of operation, ceased operations in mid-June, and the inspector general's recommendations were subsequently closed.