Florida’s two most prominent immigration detention centers, the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami and the Everglades Detention Facility—colloquially known as Alligator Alcatraz—have come under intense national scrutiny following a damning report by Amnesty International USA. Released on December 11, 2025, the report alleges that both facilities subject detainees to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, a claim that has ignited a fierce debate between state officials, human rights advocates, and the broader public.
Governor Ron DeSantis, never one to shy away from controversy, staunchly defended the conditions at both Krome and Alligator Alcatraz just one day prior to the report’s publication. According to Florida Politics, DeSantis maintained that the detainees—whom he described as “criminal aliens,” including sexual predators and individuals with serious offenses—are actually afforded more amenities than some believe is warranted. “You have a lot of criminal aliens. If you look at their rap sheets, you’ve got people that are sexual predators, you’ve got people that have committed, you know, really serious offenses. They shouldn’t have been in this country to begin with. And now they’re making claims, ‘Oh, they’re being abused.’ None of that is substantiated,” DeSantis said.
Yet, the Amnesty International report paints a starkly different picture. Amy Fischer, director of refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA, told NPR that her team was granted access to the Krome facility, where they interviewed four detainees—each with prior experience at Alligator Alcatraz. Fischer recounted harrowing stories of neglect and abuse. “At Krome, we heard from people inside that they are regularly denied medical care. They don’t have adequate food. There is abuse by the guards,” Fischer said. She described a particularly disturbing incident: while speaking with a detainee on hunger strike, she witnessed an ICE agent slam the metal flap of the food slot on the man’s already injured hand and then punch the door repeatedly.
Amnesty International’s access to Alligator Alcatraz was denied, but Fischer and her team gathered testimonies from former detainees, lawyers, advocates, and family members. The descriptions were chilling. “People there are detained in cages, over 30 people per cage, and only three toilets that oftentimes are broken and have sewage running into the sleeping areas,” Fischer told NPR. Perhaps most alarming was the reported use of “the box”—a two-foot-by-two-foot outdoor cage where detainees are shackled by hands and feet, chained to the ground, and left for hours in the sun without food or water as punishment.
These accounts have been met with outrage from human rights organizations and legal advocates. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit alleging that detainees at Alligator Alcatraz were limited to one meal a day, denied daily showers, and confined around the clock in cages inside tents. The ACLU’s complaint adds to mounting pressure on state and federal authorities to address conditions in these facilities.
Governor DeSantis, for his part, scoffed at the accusations, suggesting that the facilities are more than accommodating. “I’m like, do you really need to have all this stuff? Because honestly, I thought it was over the top,” DeSantis remarked, referring to amenities at Alligator Alcatraz such as a mess hall and a library. He argued that even if detainees were housed in luxury, critics would still find fault: “You put them up in the Ritz-Carlton, they are going to accuse you of doing that.”
Florida’s Director of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, also weighed in, defending the quality of food at the facilities. When complaints arose about the turkey sandwiches being “gray” and “nasty,” Guthrie insisted that the meals were perfectly acceptable. He further dismissed concerns about overcrowding, stating that inmates at Alligator Alcatraz “have much more room than do people in state-run hurricane shelters.”
Despite these defenses, Amnesty International’s report calls for urgent reforms. Fischer emphasized that international law prohibits the arbitrary detention of people for immigration processing, allowing detention only in the most extraordinary circumstances. “Ultimately, these two facilities need to be shut down, and the people inside need to be released into their home communities,” Fischer declared.
In response to the Amnesty report, Florida Governor’s press secretary, Molly Best, issued a statement to NPR, calling it a “politically motivated attack” and asserting, “none of these fabrications are true.” Best further claimed that the report could jeopardize the safety and security of staff at the facilities. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and the Krome facility, did not respond to requests for comment, according to NPR.
Interestingly, DeSantis has admitted that mistakes can occur in the deportation process, acknowledging that “human institutions” are prone to occasional errors. This concession, though brief, highlights the complexity and potential fallibility of the system—an issue that legal advocates have long raised.
The controversy around Krome and Alligator Alcatraz is not new. The partnership between state and federal authorities in managing these centers has served as a model for similar facilities nationwide. However, the current firestorm of criticism—fueled by detailed testimonies, lawsuits, and international attention—has brought renewed scrutiny to their operations and accountability mechanisms.
For those detained inside, the debate is not abstract. Testimonies collected by Amnesty International and other advocacy groups describe daily realities marked by deprivation and fear. Reports of hunger strikes, untreated injuries, and punitive confinement suggest a system struggling to balance security, legal mandates, and basic human dignity.
The broader political context cannot be ignored. Immigration policy remains one of the most divisive issues in American public life, with state and federal leaders often at odds over enforcement, humanitarian obligations, and the rights of non-citizens. While some Floridians support DeSantis’s tough stance, others see the allegations as a call to action for comprehensive reform and oversight.
As the debate continues, the future of Krome and Alligator Alcatraz hangs in the balance. The findings of Amnesty International have amplified calls for transparency and change, while state officials remain defiant in their defense of current practices. With lawsuits pending and national attention fixed on Florida, the coming months may prove pivotal for the fate of these controversial detention centers and the people held within their walls.
The clash between official assurances and harrowing testimonies has left the public with difficult questions about justice, accountability, and the treatment of those caught in America’s immigration system. Only time will tell whether these facilities will be reformed, shuttered, or continue to operate as flashpoints in the nation’s ongoing immigration debate.
