Florida Defies 'Torture' Cage Report at Closed Immigrant Facility, Blasts 'Left-Wing Media'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis administration is digging in, defiantly defending the use of small metal 'torture' cages at the now-closed 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration detention center, even after a damning Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general's report released this week confirmed inhumane conditions and violations of federal detention standards. The state's communications director, Alex Lanfranconi, brazenly stated the enclosures would be made 'even smaller if we could', dismissing widespread outrage and allegations of torture from human rights groups like Amnesty International. This comes despite the facility, known officially as the Florida Soft-Sided Facility (FSSF), having already shuttered its operations in June 2026. The OIG report, based on an unannounced inspection in January 2026, detailed how 79 immigrant detainees were confined in 18-square-foot metal enclosures for periods up to nearly two hours between July 2025 and January 2026. While staff claimed these were 'calming areas' and detainees entered voluntarily, inspectors observed locking mechanisms and found instances of disciplinary use. Amnesty International had previously flagged these practices as 'torture' in a December 2025 report, which the DeSantis administration then labeled as 'fabrications'. The report also revealed a host of other deplorable conditions at the facility, including inadequate living space, limited showers, and poor access to clean water and legal assistance. With 'Alligator Alcatraz' now closed, the DHS has opted not to address the OIG recommendations, citing the facility's state control. However, attention now shifts to Florida's other state-run immigration facility, Baker Correctional Institution, which continues to face its own serious allegations of inhumane treatment, medical neglect, and recent detainee hunger strikes as of August 2026, underscoring persistent concerns about Florida's broader immigration detention practices. Governor DeSantis, while acknowledging the OIG report, has claimed he hasn't read it, suggesting 'a lot of accusations' without engaging with the findings.