Overview

• Human Rights Watch and multiple news outlets document overcrowded tents, constant lighting, shackling during meals, limited showers and mosquito-infested cells at Alligator Alcatraz and other Florida facilities
• Lawsuits filed by the ACLU of Florida and private law firms allege detainees are being denied in-person attorney access and are unable to challenge their detention
• Italian and Mexican officials have formally protested conditions for their nationals held in “inhuman and degrading” cages and are pressing for immediate repatriation
• Florida emergency management and Department of Homeland Security spokespeople insist the facility meets federal and state standards and that detainees have access to legal counsel and services
• Public health and environmental experts warn that flood-prone tents, sewage backups and unassessed impacts on the Everglades create serious health and ecological risks