Amnesty Report: 'Alligator Alcatraz' and Krome Accused of 'Harrowing' Human Rights Abuses

An Amnesty International investigation alleges that migrants held at a remote Florida detention camp nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz" and at Miami’s Krome processing center have been subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, in some cases rising to the level of torture.

Allegations at the Everglades Camp

According to interviews with detainees, advocacy groups and a site visit to Krome, guards at the state-run Everglades facility used a small, roughly 2-foot-high metal enclosure—referred to by detainees as "the box"—to punish people arbitrarily. Detainees described being shackled inside the box, left exposed to heat, humidity and mosquitos, and in some cases left without water for up to a day.

"It's a box outside, exposed to the south Florida sun and humidity, and exposed to mosquitos," one detainee told Amnesty.

Amnesty reports unsanitary conditions at the camp: overflowing toilets with waste seeping into sleeping areas, limited access to showers, lights left on 24 hours a day, poor-quality food and water, insect exposure without protection, and a lack of privacy. The group also documented inconsistent, inadequate or denied medical care and routine shackling when detainees were outside their cells.

Findings at Krome Processing Center

Amnesty described Krome North Service processing center in west Miami as "chaotic," citing overcrowded temporary holding areas, delays in intake procedures, limited access to medical care, and disciplinary practices including prolonged solitary confinement. The report echoes earlier findings by other human-rights groups alleging humiliating treatment and physical restraint of detainees.

"Krome's extreme overcrowding, medical neglect, and reports of humiliating and degrading treatment paint a picture of harrowing human rights violations," said Amy Fischer, director of refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty.

The report also recounts incidents of violence and racist abuse by some guards. An Amnesty staff member reported witnessing a guard slam a metal flap of a solitary-confinement door onto an injured hand. Other newly arriving detainees were reportedly forced to sleep for days on buses without toilets or air conditioning until space became available.

Operations, Oversight and Legal Concerns

The Everglades camp is operated by the Florida Department of Emergency Management (DEM) and functions outside the standard federal oversight applied to facilities run directly by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The facility reopened in October after a federal closure order was temporarily blocked by appellate judges. Critics say the camp lacks routine tracking systems used in ICE facilities, complicating efforts by families and lawyers to locate detainees.

Krome's day-to-day operations are managed by the private contractor Akima Global Services LLC under a reported $685 million contract with ICE. Amnesty criticized both the for-profit management at Krome and the state-run model of the Everglades camp, which received funding tied to a reported $608 million FEMA reimbursement to Florida.

Responses and Recommendations

Molly Best, press secretary to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, dismissed the Amnesty findings as politically motivated and said the allegations were untrue. ICE did not provide a response to Amnesty's requests for comment, and the contractor did not list a media contact on its website.

Amnesty's report calls on Florida to close the Everglades camp, end cooperation agreements with federal immigration authorities, and for the federal government to halt policies that criminalize migration and rely on mass detention. The organization recommends full investigations, independent oversight of detention sites, improvements to medical and sanitary conditions, and safeguards to ensure detainees' access to legal representation.

"The treatment of people inside these immigrant detention centers is cruelty, hard stop. The medical neglect, filthy and inhuman conditions, and dehumanizing punishment, in some cases amounting to torture, is abhorrent. Federal and state officials must act immediately to end this human rights crisis," said Mary Kapron of Amnesty's research team.