{"id":29507,"date":"2026-03-26T09:44:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=29507"},"modified":"2026-03-26T09:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:45:00","slug":"sens-ossoff-durbin-launch-investigation-into-abuse-allegations-at-alligator-alcatraz","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sens-ossoff-durbin-launch-investigation-into-abuse-allegations-at-alligator-alcatraz\/","title":{"rendered":"Sens. Ossoff, Durbin\u00a0Launch Investigation into Abuse Allegations at \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington, D.C. <\/strong>\u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is investigating allegations of abuse at the so-called \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d detention site that he says may rise to the level of torture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sens. Ossoff and Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, launched an inquiry<\/a> with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons over the reported use of theconfined space referred to as \u201cthe box\u201d at the South Florida Detention Facility known as \u201cAlligator Alcatraz.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to media reports, detainees have reported<\/a> being forced to endure egregious conditions such as temperatures as high as 90 degrees and horsefly-sized mosquitos during their time of confinement in \u201cthe box.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe write with serious alarm regarding recent reports of abuse faced by detainees in U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Everglades Detention Facility, dubbed \u2018Alligator Alcatraz,\u2019\u201d Sens. Ossoff and Durbin wrote.<\/strong> \u201cThere have been credible allegations that detainees at \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 have been punished with confinement in a small cage-like structure known as \u2018the box,\u2019 where they are held in stress positions with hands and feet tightly shackled for hours at a time, in direct sunlight with no access to food or water.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese conditions reportedly suffered by detainees, as alleged, appear to violate Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detention standards and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. We therefore urgently seek information from DHS and ICE about the purported use of \u2018the box.\u2019 If \u2018the box\u2019 is in use, we urge DHS and ICE to immediately cease its use and prevent detainees from being subjected to torture.\u201d Sen. Ossoff and Durbin continued.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff continues working to strengthen Congressional oversight and investigate abuses in U.S. immigration detention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early last year, Sen. Ossoff launched an investigation into human rights abuses in U.S. immigration detention. Sen. Ossoff\u2019s investigation uncovered credible reports of abuse of pregnant women and children in immigration detention<\/a>and shocking reports of medical neglect and denial of adequate food or water<\/a> for ICE detainees. This January, Sen. Ossoff released a new report<\/a>, finding an undeniable pattern of human rights abuse in immigration detention in the first year of the Trump Administration with over 1,000 credible reports of human rights abuses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last December, Sen. Ossoff led Senate colleagues in launching an inquiry<\/a> with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pressing the administration for answers about obstruction of Congressional access to detention facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, Sen. Ossoff launched an inquiry<\/a> with U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into delays deploying licensed child welfare professionals to assist children who are temporarily in U.S. Southern Border facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, Sen. Ossoff led an 18-month bipartisan investigation<\/a> into medical mistreatment of women in U.S. detention, which uncovered that female detainees at the now-reopened Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia were subjected to \u201cinvasive, and often unnecessary gynecological procedures.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also in 2022, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock pressed the Biden Administration<\/a> for answers about allegations of sexual assault against women at the ICE Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> to read Sens. Ossoff and Durbin\u2019s inquiry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # # <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is investigating allegations of abuse at the so-called \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d detention site that he says may rise to the level of torture.  Sens. Ossoff and Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, launched an inquiry with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons over the reported use of theconfined space referred to as \u201cthe box\u201d at the South Florida […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29507","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/29507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/29507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29508,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/29507\/revisions\/29508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}