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  4. DHS Debunks Alligator Alcatraz Hoaxes

DHS Debunks Alligator Alcatraz Hoaxes

Release Date: August 14, 2025

The media is desperate for allegations of inhumane conditions at this facility to be true, so they can slow down President Trump’s partnerships with States to turbocharge efforts to remove the worst of the worst

“Nearly every single day, my office responds to media questions on FALSE allegations about Alligator Alcatraz. The media is clearly desperate for these allegations of inhumane conditions at this facility to be true,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “No feces are overflowing from toilets. Just like no one has died. Incinerators are not being used for nefarious purposes. These types of smears are directly contributing to our ICE officers facing a 1000% increase in assaults against them. Here are the facts: Alligator Alcatraz does meet federal detention standards. All detainee facilities are clean. Any allegations of inhumane conditions are FALSE. When will the media stop peddling hoaxes about illegal alien detention centers and start focusing on American victims of illegal alien crime?"

CLAIM: Detainees have died at Alligator Alcatraz.

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Fate Of 'Alligator Alcatraz' Detainee Prompts 'Proof of Life' Plea, DHS Statement Rejecting He Was Dead

REALITY: No one has died. 

CLAIM: Incinerators are being used for nefarious purposes. 

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Viral videos spread flimsy Alligator Alcatraz 'incinerators' rumor

REALITY: FALSE. Beyond disgusting: From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi Gestapo to now implying incinerators are being used at Alligator Alcatraz for nefarious purposes, the vilification of ICE must stop

CLAIM:  Detainee Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez became unconscious and needed CPR.

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At 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Did a Detainee Just Faint or Need CPR? Homeland Security says a detainee fainted. But other accounts say the main was unconscious. One witness said the guards did not seem to know how to check his pulse.

REALITY: Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez, a criminal illegal alien with a rap sheet that includes an arrest for robbery in Miami, fainted and was taken to the hospital out of precaution. All detainees at Alligator Alcatraz have access to proper medical care.

CLAIM: There are worms in the food and toilets are flooding the floors with fecal waste.

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Detained immigrants at 'Alligator Alcatraz' say there are worms in food and wastewater on the floor

REALITY: Any allegations of “inhumane” conditions at Alligator Alcatraz are false. No food is infested with worms. No feces are overflowing from toilets. Alligator Alcatraz does meet federal detention standards. All detainee facilities are clean.

CLAIM: Detainees don’t have access to lawyers at Alligator Alcatraz.

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Attorneys for Alligator Alcatraz detainees claim no access, seek restraining order

REALITY: Any allegation illegal aliens at Alligator Alcatraz do not have access to attorneys is FALSE. The facility maintains a physical space for attorneys to meet with their clients. Additionally, Florida established an email address for attorneys to submit requests to speak to the specific illegal aliens.

CLAIM: There was a hunger strike at Alligator Alcatraz.

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'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees on hunger strike for 10th day, protesting conditions - One of the detainees, Pedro Hernandez, was hopitalized during the strike but continued to refuse food, he said on Thursday.

REALITY: FALSE. There was no hunger strike at Alligator Alcatraz. This lie was spread by criminal illegal alien Pedro Lorenzo-Concepcion—a convicted drug trafficker. Here are the facts: there was no hunger strike at Alligator Alcatraz. 

CLAIM: At Alligator Alcatraz, detainees claim there is an unchecked spread of illness and flooding.

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'Alligator Alcatraz' Detainees Allege Disease, Flooding at Florida Facility

REALITY: There is no wide-spread disease circulating at Alligator Alcatraz. There are no cases of COVID and no cases of Tuberculosis. There is no flooding in the facility.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last time, the media repeats unsubstantiated, inaccurate allegations about illegal alien detention facilities.

Last Updated: 08/14/2025
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