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Torture and Enforced Disappearances at 'Alligator Alcatraz' and Krome Detention Centers

Florida immigration detention centers are sites of documented torture including a punitive cage device, prolonged solitary confinement, unsanitary conditions, and enforced disappearances facilitated by the absence of any tracking system. At least six people died in Florida ICE facilities since October 2024.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 5 of 5: War Crime / Crime Against Humanity

Conduct that satisfies the legal elements of a war crime under the Rome Statute (Article 8), a crime against humanity (Article 7), or genocide (Article 6). Scale and definitions

Status
Ongoing
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Everglades, Florida, USA
Category
Deportation to Torture
Legal posture
Reported
War-crime classification
Probable
ICC relevance
No
Civilian casualties
6
Sources
3 cited
Stable ID
alligator-alcatraz-detention-torture
Legal basis
Convention Against Torture (Articles 1, 16), ICCPR (Articles 7, 9, 10), International Convention on Enforced Disappearance, Nelson Mandela Rules (Rules 43-46), Rome Statute Article 7(1)(e)(f)(i)
Victims
Immigration detainees held at Everglades Detention Facility ('Alligator Alcatraz') and Krome North Service Processing Center in Florida
Alleged responsible parties
ICE, Florida Department of Corrections, GEO Group (private prison operator)

Key points

  • Amnesty International conducted a research trip to southern Florida in September 2025 and published findings in December 2025 documenting systematic human rights violations at two immigration detention facilities
  • 'Alligator Alcatraz' (Everglades Detention Facility) operates OUTSIDE federal oversight, without the basic tracking systems used in ICE facilities — the absence of registration or tracking mechanisms facilitates incommunicado detention constituting enforced disappearance
  • Detainees are placed in 'the box' — a 2x2 foot cage-like structure where they are restrained with hands and feet attached to the ground, sometimes for hours, exposed to the elements with minimal water — which Amnesty concluded amounts to torture
  • Prolonged solitary confinement at Krome (exceeding 15 consecutive days per Nelson Mandela Rules) also amounts to torture under international law
  • Conditions include overflowing toilets with fecal matter seeping into sleeping areas, limited access to showers, constant 24-hour lighting, exposure to insects, poor quality food and water, and lack of privacy
  • Amnesty staffers personally witnessed a guard violently slam a metal flap of a door to a solitary confinement room against a man's injured hand; other detainees reported being hit and punched by guards
  • At least 6 deaths occurred in Florida ICE facilities since October 2024, including 4 at Krome
  • Florida has increased the number of people in immigrant detention by more than 50% since January 2025
  • Since 'Alligator Alcatraz' operates as a state facility rather than a federal one, it evades the already-limited ICE detention standards, creating a legal black hole

Overview

In December 2025, Amnesty International published the results of a September 2025 research trip to two immigration detention facilities in southern Florida: the Everglades Detention Facility, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," and the Krome North Service Processing Center. The investigation documented treatment that meets the international legal definition of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and enforced disappearance.

The Box

The most severe finding involves a punitive device at Alligator Alcatraz called "the box" — a 2x2 foot cage-like structure in which detainees are restrained with their hands and feet attached to the ground. People are placed in the box for hours at a time, exposed to the elements with minimal water. Under established international law standards, including the Nelson Mandela Rules and Convention Against Torture, this practice constitutes torture.

Enforced Disappearances

Alligator Alcatraz operates entirely outside federal oversight. Unlike ICE facilities, it has no registration or tracking systems for detainees. When the whereabouts of a detained person are denied to their family and they are prevented from contacting their lawyer, this meets the legal definition of enforced disappearance under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance — a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute.

Expert Assessment

Amnesty International concluded that the use of prolonged solitary confinement at Krome and the use of "the box" at Alligator Alcatraz amount to torture or other ill-treatment. The organization called for the immediate closure of Alligator Alcatraz and prohibition of any state-run immigration detention in Florida.

International law engaged

InstrumentProvisionWhat it protects or prohibits
Convention Against TortureArticle 1Definition and absolute prohibition of torture — severe pain or suffering intentionally inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official
Convention Against TortureArticle 16Prohibition on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment
International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsArticle 7No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsArticle 9Right to liberty and security of person; prohibition on arbitrary detention
International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsArticle 10All persons deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for inherent dignity
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced DisappearanceArticle 2Prohibition on enforced disappearance: deprivation of liberty with concealment of fate or whereabouts
UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules)Rules 43-46Prohibition on prolonged solitary confinement (exceeding 15 consecutive days) and on indefinite solitary confinement; both constitute torture
Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtArticle 7(1)(e)Crimes against humanity — imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law
Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtArticle 7(1)(f)Crimes against humanity — torture
Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtArticle 7(1)(i)Crimes against humanity — enforced disappearance of persons

Primary documents

Sequence of events

  1. Administration escalates immigration enforcement

    Trump administration takes office and begins escalating immigration enforcement operations in Florida.

  2. Amnesty International conducts on-site research

    Amnesty International researchers visit southern Florida detention facilities for investigation.

  3. Amnesty publishes torture report

    Amnesty International publishes 'Torture and Enforced Disappearances in the Sunshine State' documenting systematic abuses.

  4. Independent verification

    Snopes independently verifies and reports on Amnesty International's findings.

Sources

  1. Torture and Enforced Disappearances in the Sunshine State — Amnesty International archived ✓
  2. Amnesty International Report Details Human Rights Violations at Everglades and Krome Detention Centers — WGCU / PBS archived ✓
  3. Human rights org reports torture, inhumane conditions at Alligator Alcatraz — Axios archived ✓

How this record was published

Manually curated This entry was added directly and does not carry an automated audit trail.

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