José Javier Rodríguez, the Democratic nominee for Florida Attorney, is calling for a "full investigation" into an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security that found inhumane detention practices at the now defunct Everglades migrant detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz.
"Floridians deserve to know how their money was spent, who benefited, and who should be held accountable for using taxpayer dollars to fund cruelty and inhumane conditions," the Rodríguez campaign said in a statement Thursday morning before a planned news conference with reporters in Miami.
Rodriguez is challenging Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier for the state's top law enforcement job in November.
The report released this week by the DHS Office of Inspector General confirmed what WLRN reported exclusively more than a year ago — that Alligator Alcatraz was using small, cage enclosures to confine detainees for hours at a time as punishment for infractions including talking back to guards.
In its report, DHS OIG investigators reported that 79 detainees were locked in tiny outdoor metal enclosures — measuring roughly 16 to 18 square feet — for up to two hours. While facility staff described the structures as "calming areas" for detainees to "de-escalate," the investigators said the practice was unprecedented and warned it posed significant risks to detainee health and safety, leaving individuals exposed to severe heat and insects.
Beyond the cages, the federal investigators documented systemic failures in medical care, food service, hygiene, recreation, and environmental safety.
The DeSantis administration, in a statement following the federal report'r release, defended its detention policies at Alligator Alcatraz, accusing the "left-wing media" of placing its attention on one area of the facility.
“At least ten million illegal aliens entered our country under the Biden administration. Florida decided to do something about it,” said Alex Lanfranconi, who is director of communications for Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"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,"Lanfranconi said. "While it adheres to all federal standards for criminal confinement, we’d make it even smaller if we could.”
