Overview
- The DHS Office of Inspector General released a report Monday that documented small metal enclosures about 16–18 square feet in size and said 79 detainees were placed in them between July 17, 2025 and Jan. 18, 2026.
- Inspectors called the enclosures “highly unconventional” and wrote they do not align with humane treatment standards, noting detainees spent up to two hours inside for periods that averaged just under an hour.
- The report recorded multiple specific failures: crowded housing with roughly 28 square feet per person versus a 75‑square‑foot standard, limited showers three times a week, lack of clean drinking water, insect infestations and restricted recreation time.
- Florida built and ran the temporary Everglades facility while ICE held detainees there; DHS and state officials dispute who had day‑to‑day authority, and the OIG’s corrective recommendations were closed administratively after the center closed in mid‑June 2026.
- The findings bolster lawsuits and congressional inquiries and keep open questions about oversight, state costs that topped $1 billion and environmental and tribal claims tied to the remote detention site.