World Relief Responds to Allegations of Inhumane Conditions and Religious Freedom Violations in “Alligator Alcatraz”

Contact: wr@pinkston.co

(Baltimore, MD) July 8, 2025 – Today, CBS News’ local affiliate in Miami, Florida reported on troubling allegations from detainees held in an immigrant detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” President Donald Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the newly-constructed facility in the Florida Everglades last week. 

One detainee alleged that his Bible had been confiscated, saying an official had told him that his “right to religion” did not apply in the facility. Others described 24-hour lights that make it impossible to sleep, a lack of bathing facilities and access to medication, enormous mosquitos and being served just one meal daily that was infested with maggots. 

“It’s imperative that the State of Florida and the Department of Homeland Security, which is ultimately responsible for immigrant detention, carefully investigate these troubling allegations and ensure that all detainees are treated humanely and allowed access to Bibles and other religious materials,” responded World Relief president & CEO Myal Greene. 

The “Alligator Alcatraz” facility is reportedly operated by the Florida Division of Emergency Management in coordination with the federal government. Immigrant detention facilities are technically civil detention, not intended to be punitive, but State of Florida regulations appropriately require that even inmates in correctional facilities be afforded “the greatest amount of freedom and opportunity for pursuing individual religious beliefs,” which should certainly include access to a Bible and religious visitation. The federal government’s Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention standard “ensures that detainees of different religious beliefs are provided reasonable and equitable opportunities to participate in the practices of their respective faiths, constrained only by concerns about safety, security and the orderly operation of the facility.”

While the specific identities of the hundreds reportedly detained in this facility are not publicly available, nationally, only about seven percent of detained immigrants have been convicted of a violent crime. 

“Christians believe that all people have been made in the image of God and should be spoken of and treated with dignity,” added Greene. “As a country, we must do better than joking about human beings made in God’s image as alligator food — and, even in those cases where detention is appropriate for public safety reasons, when someone has been convicted of a violent crime, our government should treat all people humanely, respecting our own laws.”

World Relief has noted with concern that the budget reconciliation bill signed into law last week will dramatically increase immigrant detention, expanding ICE’s detention budget from $3.4 billion to $45 billion, which will likely mean that the share of non-criminal immigrants held in detention will continue to rise. Among those at risk of detention and deportation are hundreds of thousands who entered the U.S. lawfully after fleeing countries experiencing humanitarian crises, whose legal protections have recently been terminated. 

“Most Americans, including most evangelical Christians, want immigrants convicted of violent crimes to be detained and deported — but very few want non-criminal immigrants to be deportation priorities when they have lived peaceably in the country for years, are performing vital roles in our local economies or have U.S. citizen family members from whom they would be separated if detained or deported,” said Matthew Soerens, Vice President of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief. 

Pew Research Center found in March that, among Americans overall, 15 percent or fewer believed immigrants should face deportation if they have a job, have a U.S. citizen child or spouse or themselves came to the U.S. as children. Lifeway Research found similar results among evangelical Christians, in particular, in a January study.