'No water, mosquitoes like elephants': Alligator Alcatraz's detainees detail horrifying inhumane conditions

Time of India

09-07-2025

Lack of water to bathe, food with maggots, toilets that didn't flush, giant bugs, little access to washrooms, and "mosquitoes as big as elephants- these are some of the inhumane conditions described by detainees held at the
Florida migrant center
known as "
Alligator Alcatraz
". Around 3,000 migrants are expected to be held as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration at the "Alligator Alcatraz". The administration said alligators, crocodiles and pythons in the surrounding wetlands would keep detainees from escaping.
Detainees being held at the newly-opened detention center in Florida have alleged that conditions are dire, with scarce food, no water to bathe, and constant bright lights making it difficult to sleep, reports The Independent. The center started accepting detainees from July 2.
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Inhumane conditions at Alligator Alcatraz
Leamsy 'La Figura' Izquierdo, a Cuban artist who was arrested in Miami last week, was moved to the detention facility in the Everglades on Friday along with what he claims are more than 400 other detainees. Since then, Izquierdo says, he and other detainees have been treated poorly.
'There's no water to take a bath, it's been four days since I've taken a bath,' Izquierdo told CBS News. Izquierdo, who was arrested on battery and assault with a deadly weapon, said detainees are fed once a day with food that has 'maggots' in it and are not provided toothpaste.
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'They only brought a meal once a day and it has maggots, he added. 'They never take of the lights for 24 hours. The mosquitoes are as big as elephants.'
He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery. He was initially held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK) before being transferred to Alligator Alcatraz.
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'Can't use bathroom properly'
Another family of a migrant has claimed there was lack of water, freezing cold tents and atrocious mosquitoes at the so-called "Alligator Alcatraz." Eveling Ortiz said her boyfriend, Vladimir Miranda, crossed the southern border and was given the I-220A form, which simply documents that a migrant has been released into the U.S. by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reports NBC Miami.
"He had the final hearing two weeks ago," she said. But days later, Miranda was detained by immigration officials at his job in Orlando.
Then on Sunday, the 32-year-old was moved to the Everglades facility. "The condition they're going through, they're horrible," Ortiz said. '...They don't have water, they can't use the bathroom properly. They're not taking a bath.' "They took somebody to the hospital because there is a lot of mosquitoes, because he was getting swollen on his face, and they didn't know what was going on," she said.
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Another detainee alleged his mental health was declining without access to his medication and Bible.'I'm on the edge of losing my mind. I've gone three days without taking my medicine," he told CBS. "It's impossible to sleep with this white light that's on all day."
"They took the Bible I had and they said here there is no right to religion. And my Bible is the one thing that keeps my faith, and now I'm losing my faith," he added.
Another detainee told the CBS News that those running the facility were not respecting 'human rights.' He described being at Alligator Alcatraz as 'a form of torture.'
"They're not respecting our human rights. We're human beings; we're not dogs. We're like rats in an experiment,' he said.
"I don't know their motive for doing this, if it's a form of torture. A lot of us have our residency documents and we don't understand why we're here,' he added.
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What is Alligator Alcatraz?
Alligator Alcatraz is the recently erected temporary detention facility located deep in the Florida Everglades to detain the immigrants. The facility, managed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, is expected to hold anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 people rounded up as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation plan. Alligator Alcatraz was built in a matter of days on a rarely used municipal airport located about 50 miles west of the City of Miami.
State lawmakers, the local mayor, environmental groups and neighbours have opposed the detention center, saying it could harm an important ecosystem. Human rights activists, such as the ACLU, have denounced Alligator Alcatraz and raised concerns about the inhuman conditions detainees could potentially face.
'This project dehumanizes people, strips them of their rights, and diverts public dollars from the services our communities need,' Bacardi Jackson, the executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said
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