A federal inspection is shedding more light on conditions inside the detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz” — finding violations involving living space, special management units, medical monitoring, food service, personal hygiene and recreation.Now, people who spent months inside the facility — along with family members who have spent more than a year documenting their loved ones' experiences — are speaking out to WINK Investigates.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an unannounced inspection of the Florida Soft-Sided Facility on January 21, 2026.The facility has since closed.In the report, the OIG said the facility complied with intake and use-of-force standards, but did not comply with standards related to environmental health and safety, special management units, medical care, food service, personal hygiene and recreation.The report also found facility staff could not clearly identify which detention standards they were supposed to follow.Some staff told investigators they followed a combination of Florida Model Jail Standards and ICE detention standards, while others gave different answers.The OIG said the facility did not provide a written policy, procedure, agreement or contract specifying which standards applied.Crowded housing and small metal enclosuresOne of the most significant findings involved the amount of space available to detainees.The OIG found the facility's housing units provided about 28 square feet per detainee at maximum capacity — less than half of the 75 square feet required under the standard the inspectors applied.The housing units were designed for as many as 32 detainees and did not have common areas, seating, tables or storage areas.The report also examined the small metal enclosures outside the housing areas.Between July 17, 2025, and January 18, 2026, facility records showed 79 detainees were placed in the enclosures. Each provided about 18 square feet of floor space, and detainees were held there for periods ranging from several minutes to nearly two hours.The OIG called the practice unlike anything its inspectors had observed at other ICE facilities and said the enclosures presented significant risks to detainee health and safety.Facility staff called the structures “calming areas” and said detainees could use them to de-escalate; however, the OIG found the enclosures may have been used as a disciplinary tool.The facility's records showed no detainee was kept in one longer than its two-hour policy. The average time was 59 minutes and 27 seconds.The OIG recommended the facility immediately discontinue using the small metal enclosures for any reason.A former detainee says the “boxes” were used as punishmentFrank Rivera spent about four months at Alligator Alcatraz, he told WINK Investigates.He told WINK Investigates he remembers the small metal enclosures — structures detainees referred to as “the boxes.” Rivera said detainees could be placed there after conflicts with officers, refusing medication or failing to comply with orders.He described being left outside in extreme heat without water or a bathroom.“You’re out there in 100-degree weather... no water, no nothing. Just sitting there. There’s no chairs, no bathrooms,” Rivera said. Rivera said he personally spent time in the enclosures and described them as a disciplinary tool from his perspective.Other concerns found in inspectionThe OIG interviewed eight detainees about drinking water. Six said they did not have access to clean drinking water and described the water as dirty.Several also told inspectors they could not properly clean their drinking cups. Inspectors observed cups sitting on floors, bed rails and bathroom ledges because there were no dedicated storage areas for them.Rivera told WINK Investigates his experience was similar. He said detainees received water in containers and that some detainees complained about the taste and residue they saw in their cups.He described the shower water as smelling like swamp water.The OIG also found problems with food service. During its inspection, investigators found a freezer operating above the recommended temperature. The freezer gauge read 10 degrees Fahrenheit and, about 17 minutes later, read 14 degrees.The OIG said temperatures above the required range could lead to food spoilage and increase the risk of foodborne illness.Rivera said he experienced spoiled food while in the facility.The OIG also found the facility did not comply with medical standards related to withdrawal monitoring.The medical contractor had policies for monitoring detainees at risk of drug or alcohol withdrawal, but did not use standardized forms to document the process.The OIG said that limited staff's ability to consistently measure the severity of withdrawal symptoms and develop individualized treatment plans.Showers were another concern documented. The OIG found detainees were only allowed to shower three times a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.The standard the inspectors applied called for daily access to showers.Inspectors also observed small bugs on the ceilings of the showers. Seven of the eight detainees interviewed by the OIG said the facility was not clean, with two specifically identifying the showers as a problem.Rivera told WINK Investigates he remembers bugs, mosquitoes and spiders inside the facility. He described the showers as having bugs and said detainees were regularly exposed to them.The OIG also found detainees were offered just one hour of recreation three days a week. The applicable standards called for at least one hour per day, five days a week. The OIG said the limited recreation could negatively affect physical and mental health.Arianne Betancourt says the report validates what families have been sayingFor Arianne Betancourt, the findings are personal. Her father spent four and a half months at Alligator Alcatraz during a six-and-a-half-month detention, she told WINK Investigates.Betancourt became an advocate for detainees and families and now serves as a community catalyst with The Workers Circle.She said her father initially did not tell her everything he was experiencing but as she connected with other families and detainees, she began hearing similar accounts. Betancourt told WINK Investigates the new report was not surprising to her.“This is just giving validation to what we have known and have been hearing for over a year about Alligator Alcatraz,” she said.She added families and advocates spent months documenting what they were hearing from people inside the facility. She said her and other families stood outside the gates for 47 weeks and repeatedly raised concerns about conditions inside.Betancourt's testimony detailed her father's experienceIn written testimony submitted to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Betancourt described her father as a 65-year-old man who had lived in the United States since he was 10.She wrote that during his detention, her father reported being shackled to hospital beds, having inconsistent access to prescribed medications and being repeatedly transferred between facilities in ways that disrupted his medical care.Find the full testimony here.She also wrote that her father described detainees receiving what he characterized as rotten, frozen or insufficient food, along with a lack of clean drinking water and extended periods without showers or basic sanitation.Betancourt's testimony also described her father's account of medical emergencies involving other detainees and alleged delays or denials of care.She told the Senate committee that her experience led her to leave her job and devote herself full time to connecting with families and documenting their experiences.Her written testimony asked for an independent investigation into detention conditions, guaranteed access to medical care and medications, clean water and adequate nutrition, as well as greater transparency and oversight.What happens now?The OIG made 10 recommendations aimed at improving ICE oversight and facility operations.The recommendations, however, were administratively closed because Alligator Alcatraz ceased operations in June 2026.For Betancourt, the closure does not end the questions about what happened there.“Alligator Alcatraz is closed, but what those people were subjected to, the horror, the nightmares, the PTSD, the trauma — it's not going to go away,”She said she hopes people are held accountable for what happened inside the facility.Rivera says the same issues should continue to be examined even though the facility is no longer operating.If you have a story you'd like WINK Investigates to look into, email us at winkinvestigates@winknews.com or call our tip line at 239-344-5074.