PBS News, citing an Associated Press report by Gisela Salomon, relays that U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials announced the transfer of all detainees held at a remote immigration detention site in the Florida Everglades informally called ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ The facility, situated on an isolated airstrip, had drawn widespread attention since its opening. DHS cited concerns related to hurricane season as the reason for relocating detainees to other facilities.

WPTV News reports that two former detainees, one from Colombia and one from Haiti, testified remotely about conditions at a Florida immigration detention facility. Both individuals stated they believed they had legal status in the United States at the time ICE detained them.

FRANCE 24 English, in a report by journalist Ava Luquet, examines how ICE enforcement operations have dramatically escalated since Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. The investigation finds that the number of people detained by ICE has quadrupled and more than 400,000 individuals have been deported over the course of one year. The report draws on viral arrest footage and other evidence to analyze the scope and methods of what the administration has called its deportation effort.

Investigative journalist Jason Garcia, writing in his Seeking Rents newsletter, reports that Florida’s new immigration detention facility in the Everglades—widely referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz”—operates outside standard hiring requirements applied to state law enforcement and prison personnel. While Florida law mandates fingerprinting, physical exams, and background investigations for correctional officers, contractors running the Everglades camp were granted permission by Gov. Ron DeSantis to bypass those requirements. The facility has also been described as infested with mosquitoes and exposed to fecal contamination.

WKYC Channel 3, citing Associated Press footage, covers remarks made by President Trump about a Florida ICE detention facility nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Trump made comments referencing the surrounding wildlife as a deterrent to escape attempts, describing the dangers posed by alligators in the area. The clip captures his characterization of immigration enforcement as a difficult undertaking.

Joyce Vance, writing in her Substack publication Civil Discourse, reports that attorneys told a federal judge in early April 2026 that guards at a state-run immigration detention facility in Florida pepper-sprayed and beat detainees after they protested being denied cell phone access. One detainee, Raiko Lopez Morffi, was allegedly thrown to the ground and severely beaten, with photographs of his injuries submitted to the court. The piece also notes that acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced his resignation, set for the end of May, amid broader scrutiny of conditions at the facility.

Newsweek reports on a migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, built on a former airfield and constructed in approximately eight days. The site, informally called ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ has a capacity of 5,000 beds and is part of a broader federal effort to increase detention and deportation of undocumented migrants.

In-depth report from Amnesty International about conditions inside Florida’s Soft-Sided Facility, aka “Alligator Alcatraz.”