Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is investigating allegations of abuse at the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” 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 “the box” at the South Florida Detention Facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
According to media reports, detainees have reported being forced to endure egregious conditions such as temperatures as high as 90 degrees and horsefly-sized mosquitos during their time of confinement in “the box.”
“We 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 ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’” Sens. Ossoff and Durbin wrote. “There have been credible allegations that detainees at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ have been punished with confinement in a small cage-like structure known as ‘the box,’ 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.”
“These 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 ‘the box.’ If ‘the box’ is in use, we urge DHS and ICE to immediately cease its use and prevent detainees from being subjected to torture.” Sen. Ossoff and Durbin continued.
Sen. Ossoff continues working to strengthen Congressional oversight and investigate abuses in U.S. immigration detention.
Early last year, Sen. Ossoff launched an investigation into human rights abuses in U.S. immigration detention. Sen. Ossoff’s investigation uncovered credible reports of abuse of pregnant women and children in immigration detentionand shocking reports of medical neglect and denial of adequate food or water for ICE detainees. This January, Sen. Ossoff released a new report, 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.
Last December, Sen. Ossoff led Senate colleagues in launching an inquiry with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pressing the administration for answers about obstruction of Congressional access to detention facilities.
In 2024, Sen. Ossoff launched an inquiry 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.
In 2022, Sen. Ossoff led an 18-month bipartisan investigation 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 “invasive, and often unnecessary gynecological procedures.”
Also in 2022, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock pressed the Biden Administration for answers about allegations of sexual assault against women at the ICE Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.
Click here to read Sens. Ossoff and Durbin’s inquiry.
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