ICE detainees held in cages at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, watchdog finds

Dozens of detainees at ICE’s notorious "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center were kept in cages for short stretches of time, according to a new report from the agency’s inspector general.

The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security released the report last week detailing several concerning findings at the now-shuttered Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Florida. Among the inspector general’s findings, 79 detainees were kept in the metal cages for as long as two hours, detainees did not have access to clean drinking water and were kept in cramped quarters.

OIG officials called the cages "a practice unlike any OIG team has observed in ICE facilities."

"Use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment," OIG officials added in the report.

A spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the administration would have preferred to make the cages – about the size of a phonebooth – smaller.

"The left-wing media wants to focus on a confinement area for violent criminal aliens who have proven they cannot remain peaceful while awaiting deportation," said Alex Lanfranconi, DeSantis’ communications director. "While it adheres to all federal standards for criminal…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/