Florida Immigration Detention centers accused of Torture and “enforced Disappearances” in New Amnesty International Report
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A new report released by Amnesty International details harrowing allegations of human rights abuses, including potential torture, at two Florida immigration detention centers, raising serious concerns about the state’s increasingly aggressive immigration policies.
Amnesty International’s report, set to be published on December 4, 2025, documents “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment” at the Everglades Detention Center – nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” – and the Krome North Immigration Processing Center (Krome). The findings, gathered during a research mission in September 2025, point to a systemic pattern of abuse exacerbated by a hostile political climate under Governor Ron DeSantis.
“Alligator Alcatraz”: A State-Sanctioned Human Rights Crisis
The report paints a disturbing picture of conditions at “Alligator Alcatraz,” a facility operating outside of typical federal oversight.Detainees reportedly live in unsanitary conditions,including overflowing toilets with waste seeping into sleeping areas,limited access to showers,and constant exposure to insects. Lighting is reportedly on 24 hours a day,and detainees receive poor quality food and water with a complete lack of privacy – even with cameras positioned above toilets.
Access to medical care is described as “irregular,insufficient,or even nonexistent,” placing detainees at significant risk.Individuals are allegedly always handcuffed when outside their cells. Perhaps most alarmingly, detainees are subjected to punitive confinement in a small, cage-like structure – measuring just 60cm by 60cm – known as the “box,” where they are locked for hours, exposed to the elements, with limited water and restrained.
“These appalling and unsanitary conditions, the constant surveillance, and the intentional infliction of suffering amount to torture and other ill-treatment,” said Erika Fischer, a senior campaigner at Amnesty International USA.
The report also alleges that the state passed “extreme and discriminatory immigration laws” that have led to unwarranted arrests, ethnic profiling, and widespread fear within immigrant communities.
The expansion of 287(g) agreements – which deputize local law enforcement to act as immigration agents – is cited as a key driver of these issues. Under Governor DeSantis, Florida has considerably increased immigration detention rates – by more than 50 percent since January 2005 – and awarded over €310 million in no-bid contracts to “Alligator Alcatraz” between June and August 2025 alone, with estimated annual operating costs reaching €390 million. This spending has occurred while simultaneously cutting funding for essential social programs.
“The choice to favor punishment, dehumanization and cruelty to the detriment of social protection is as reckless as it is appalling,” Fischer said.
A Pattern of Abuse in U.S. Immigration Detention
The Amnesty International report places Florida’s abuses within the context of a broader national problem. The association notes that President Trump increased the use of immigration detention by nearly 70% during his second term, leading to a deterioration of conditions. Since October 2024, at least 24 deaths have occurred in ICE custody, including six in Florida facilities – four at Krome.
Calls for Systemic change
Amnesty International is urging both Florida and the federal government to address the systemic human rights violations within immigration detention centers. The organization specifically calls for the closure of “Alligator Alcatraz” and a ban on state-run immigration detention facilities. Other recommendations include ending the abusive use of emergency powers, suspending no-bid contracts, redirecting funds to essential social programs, prohibiting restraints and punitive confinement, guaranteeing access to legal counsel, conducting independant investigations into allegations of abuse, and implementing independent monitoring of all detention centers.
at the federal level, Amnesty International advocates for an end to mass immigration detention, the decriminalization of immigration, and a prohibition on the use of public facilities for immigration detention. The organization also calls for thorough investigations into deaths and allegations of torture, compliance with international human rights standards, and a extensive review of ICE contracts with state and private actors.
“The conditions observed at the Alligator Alcatraz and Krome centers are not isolated cases; Instead, they illustrate a deliberately cruel system designed to punish those who seek to build a new life in the United States,” Fischer concluded.”We must stop detaining members of our immigrant community and those seeking safety, and work towards humane and rights-respecting migration policies.”
