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Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida Democrats file bill to block federal funds to Alligator Alcatraz
Florida's Democratic congressional delegation has introduced legislation aimed at shutting down the controversial immigration detention center in the Everglades. Dubbed the 'No Cages in the Everglades Act,' the six-page bill is led by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston. It aims to ban the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating or funding the detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz, or any other 'immigration detention facility located within or adjacent to the Everglades ecosystem.' The bill also seeks to increase transparency and federal oversight of immigration detention centers nationwide. 'Trump and Ron DeSantis have exploited legal ambiguity around this Everglades internment camp to avoid any scrutiny of abuses there,' said Wasserman Schultz in an statement. 'Our bill would shut down this atrocity, strengthen oversight of detention facilities nationwide, and mandate public reporting on costs, conditions, and the treatment of detainees, as well as report on any harms to the environment and nearby tribal lands.' Wasserman Schultz is joined by fellow Florida Democrats Reps. Kathy Castor, Frederica Wilson, Lois Frankel, Darren Soto, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Maxwell Frost and Jared Moskowitz. The bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The facility — operated and funded by Florida's state government, with the expectation of federal reimbursement — has drawn sharp criticism from environmental advocates, Miccosukee tribal leaders and human rights groups, who call it both inhumane and ecologically disastrous. Multiple reports allege detainees are being held in unsafe, unsanitary conditions without access to clean water, medical care or legal support. Florida's Division of Emergency Management, which is overseeing the detention center, says those stories are false. READ MORE: Miccosukee Tribe moves to join environmental lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz The detention center sits on an airstrip on the edge of the Big Cypress National Preserve, a protected wilderness area that is home to endangered species. The bill coincides with a rapidly growing MoveOn Civic Action petition demanding the immediate closure of the Everglades detention camp. The petition has now surpassed 43,000 signatures, amplifying public pressure on state and federal officials. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick emphasized the broader moral stakes of the legislation. 'No one should be subjected to unsafe, degrading treatment, and we cannot meet these injustices with silence or symbolic gestures. We have a moral responsibility to act decisively,' Cherfilus-McCormick said. 'Every person in our custody deserves dignity, safety, and basic human rights.' The legislation has garnered support from major human rights and immigration organizations, including the ACLU, Detention Watch Network, Church World Service and the National Immigration Law Center. The bill comes just days after Wasserman Schultz, Moskowitz and Frost visited the facility alongside Florida state representatives. The visit followed complaints by detainees and attorneys about conditions inside and a lack of transparency. During the visit, Frost said they were denied permission to speak with any detainees, without explanation. Republicans who took the tour said the facility was clean and properly run. The Florida Division of Emergency Management and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Deportation flights, lawsuits and expansion: What's next for Alligator Alcatraz?
The tents, beds and pens have been erected in the Florida Everglades, and hundreds of migrants have been shipped to the detention facility the state is calling Alligator Alcatraz. Now what? The site, built in eight days on a municipal airstrip located within the Big Cypress National Preserve, is part of a larger plan to expand detention space as President Donald Trump tries to deport millions of immigrants who the government says are in the country illegally. Eventually, Alligator Alcatraz is supposed to serve what the governor describes as a 'quick processing center,' where detainees are sent and then swiftly deported — directly from an airstrip on site. But while hundreds of people are already being held there, the state's pop-up detention center — criticized by attorneys and detainees for poor conditions and legal access — isn't yet fully operational. Here's the latest on what is happening at Alligator Alcatraz, and what is coming down the pike. Deportations flights Alligator Alcatraz detainees are already being deported, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis and a spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is overseeing the facility. 'Deportations of Alligator Alcatraz detainees have begun and remain ongoing,' DEM Spokeswoman Stephanie Hartman wrote Monday in an email to the Herald. But it's unclear whether that means deportation flights are taking off from the airway at the seized Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, or from elsewhere. Also unclear is how many detainees have been deported. Hartman did not respond to follow-up questions, and Gov. Ron DeSantis did not elaborate on Wednesday while discussing the latest at the site with reporters in Tampa. The Department of Homeland Security 'has started moving in a significant number of people and they're starting to deport people from there too,' DeSantis said. 'The reality is it's there to be a quick processing center … We have a runway right there. They can just be flown back to their home country.' Planes are landing daily at the facility, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware. But neither the state or federal government have announced that deportation flights have departed from the runway, and FlightAware shows that the most recent flights that have taken off from Dade-Collier Training Airport have been private planes owned by an investment firm and a land surveyor. Those flights have been to and from the detention center and locations within Florida. Either way, state officials say the plan is for detainees to be quickly deported. On Saturday, Democratic lawmakers who received a tour of the facility said that Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told them detainees at the site are meant to be deported within two weeks of their arrival. The site opened exactly two weeks ago, on July 2. The Division of Emergency Management did not respond when asked about the two week timeline. Plans for expansion Plans for Alligator Alcatraz showed that the site is expected to be built to hold 3,000 detainees. For now, the number of detainees at the site appears to be below 1,000, based on reports from staff and lawmakers. Lawmakers were shown a 'new' dorm on Saturday without any detainees inside, implying the facility — consisting of trailers and tents — has additional capacity. This is the first of several state detention centers planned to house undocumented immigrants. Another detention facility is planned at Camp Blanding, a Clay County training site for the Florida National Guard. It could hold up to 3,000 people with more infrastructure, DeSantis said Wednesday. Similar to Alligator Alcatraz, Camp Blanding has an airstrip. The state has already sent out a request for contractors to submit proposals to establish a Camp Blanding detention center, DeSantis said. But he said he doesn't want to begin work until Alligator Alcatraz is 'filled.' 'Once there's a demand, then we'll be able to go for Camp Blanding,' DeSantis said. Legal hearings An important element of the DeSantis administration's plans for Alligator Alcatraz, and the state's role in housing immigrant detainees, is for Florida National Guard Judge Advocate General Corps officers to act as immigration judges, alleviating the crunch created in U.S. immigration courts by the crush of cases. According to the state's proposed immigration plan from earlier this year, there are nine officers who could be trained as immigration judges. Training would take six weeks, the plan stated. As of now, though, the Florida National Guard hasn't been given 'formal tasking' when it comes to officers serving as judges, spokeswoman Brittianie Funderbunk wrote Monday in an email to the Herald. In the meantime, attorneys have said they have been thwarted in their efforts to visit and contact their clients detained at the site. Some have said they have been unable to file legal briefs due to confusion about whether detainees are in the custody of the state or the federal government. But at least some Alligator Alcatraz detainees have had bond hearings, held at Krome Immigration Court this week, according to their attorneys. Krome's immigration court facilities, which exist on site, are the closest to Alligator Alcatraz. Lawsuits Critics frustrated with the creation and operation of Alligator Alcatraz have filed two lawsuits. One, filed by nonprofits Friends of the Everglades, Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice, focuses on the environmental impact of Alligator Alcatraz. The groups are accusing both the state of Florida and various federal agencies of dodging federal environmental regulations to build the facility, built hastily within the Big Cypress National Preserve. The Miccosukee Tribe filed a motion Monday to join the suit, which seeks to stop the continued operation of the detention center and further construction at the site until a full environmental review can be conducted. The federal lawsuit is pending before the Southern District of Florida. The other suit comes from a group of five Democratic state lawmakers who were denied access to the facility on July 3 when they made an unannounced visit. Sens. Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith, and state Reps. Anna Eskamani, Angie Nixon and Michele Rayner say denying them unannounced access to the facility is against the law, because members of the Florida legislature are supposed to have the ability to inspect state correctional institutions 'at their pleasure.' The state argues Alligator Alcatraz is not a correctional institution because it's not being run by the Department of Corrections. The case will eventually be heard by a Leon County circuit court.
Korea Herald
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
18_US lawmakers visit 'Alligator Alcatraz'
OCHOPEE, Florida (AP) — US Democratic lawmakers condemned Florida's new Everglades immigration detention center after visiting Saturday, describing it as crowded, unsanitary and bug-infested. Republicans on the same tour said they saw nothing of the sort at the remote facility that officials have dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." The state-arranged tour came after some Democrats were blocked earlier from viewing the 3,000-bed detention center that the state rapidly built on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland. So many state legislators and members of Congress turned up Saturday that they were split into multiple groups. "There are really disturbing, vile conditions and this place needs to be shut the hell down," US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat, told reporters after visiting the agglomeration of tents, trailers and temporary buildings. "This place is a stunt, and they're abusing human beings here." Cage-style units of 32 men share three combination toilet-sink devices, the visitors measured the temperature at 28 degrees Celsius in a housing area entranceway and 29 Celsius in a medical intake area, and grasshoppers and other insects abound, she and her fellow Florida Democrats said. Although the visitors said they were not able to speak with the detainees, Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, also a Democrat, said one called out "I'm an American citizen!" and others chanted "Libertad," Spanish for "freedom." State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican from Florida, countered that he had seen a well-run, safe facility where the living quarters were clean and the air conditioning worked well. "The rhetoric coming out of the Democrats does not match the reality," said Ingoglia, who said he toured in the same group as Wasserman Schultz. Ingoglia said a handful of detainees became "a little raucous" when the visitors appeared, but he did not make out what they were saying. State Sen. Jay Collins was in another group and said he also found the detention center to be clean and functioning well, "No squalor." Collins, a Republican, said he saw backup generators, a tracking system for dietary restrictions and military-style bunks with good mattresses. The sanitation devices struck him as appropriate, if basic. "Would I want that toilet-and-sink combination at my bathroom at the house? Probably not, but this is a transitional holding facility," Collins said by phone. Journalists were not allowed on the tour, and lawmakers were instructed not to bring phones or cameras inside. Messages seeking comment were sent to the state Division of Emergency Management, which built the facility, and to representatives for Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican. DeSantis spokesperson Molly Best highlighted one of Ingoglia's upbeat readouts on social media. Across the state in Tampa, federal Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that of the Everglades detention center that "any issues that were there have been addressed." She added that she has talked with five unnamed Republican governors about modeling other facilities on it. DeSantis and fellow Republicans have touted the makeshift detention center, constructed in days as an efficient and get-tough response to President Donald Trump's call for mass deportations. The first detainees arrived July 3, after Trump toured and praised the facility. Described as temporary, it is meant to help the Republican president's administration reach its goal of boosting migrant detention capacity from 41,000 people to at least 100,000. The Florida facility's remote location and its name — a nod to the notorious Alcatraz prison that once housed federal inmates in California — are meant to underscore a message of deterring illegal immigration. Ahead of the facility's opening, state officials said detainees would have access to medical care, consistent air conditioning, a recreation yard, attorneys and clergy members. But detainees and their relatives and advocates have told The Associated Press that conditions are awful, with worm-infested food, toilets overflowing onto floors, mosquitoes buzzing around the fenced bunks, and air conditioners that sometimes shut off in the oppressive South Florida summer heat. One man told his wife that detainees go days without getting showers. Division of Emergency Management spokesperson Stephanie Hartman called those descriptions "completely false," saying detainees always get three meals a day, unlimited drinking water, showers and other necessities. "The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order," she said. Five Democratic state lawmakers tried to visit the site July 3 but said they were denied access. The state subsequently arranged Saturday's tour. The lawmakers have sued over the earlier denial, accusing the DeSantis administration of impeding their oversight authority. A DeSantis spokesperson has called the lawsuit "dumb."
NBC News
13-07-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Allowed inside, lawmakers split on conditions for detainees in ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
OCHOPEE, Fla. — Democratic lawmakers condemned Florida's new Everglades immigration detention center after visiting Saturday, describing it as crowded, unsanitary and bug-infested. Republicans on the same tour said they saw nothing of the sort at the remote facility that officials have dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz.' The state-arranged tour came after some Democrats were blocked earlier from viewing the 3,000-bed detention center that the state rapidly built on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland. So many state legislators and members of Congress turned up Saturday that they were split into multiple groups. 'There are really disturbing, vile conditions and this place needs to be shut the hell down,' U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat, told reporters after visiting the tents, trailers and temporary buildings. 'This place is a stunt, and they're abusing human beings here.' Cage-style units of 32 men share three combination toilet-sink devices, the visitors measured the temperature at 83 degrees (28 degrees Celsius) in a housing area entranceway and 85 (29 Celsius) in a medical intake area, and grasshoppers and other insects abound, she and her fellow Florida Democrats said. Although the visitors said they were not able to speak with the detainees, Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, also a Democrat, said one called out 'I'm an American citizen!' and others chanted 'Libertad!,' Spanish for 'freedom.' State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican from Florida, countered that he had seen a well-run, safe facility where the living quarters were clean and the air conditioning worked well. 'The rhetoric coming out of the Democrats does not match the reality,' said Ingoglia, who said he toured in the same group as Wasserman Schultz. Ingoglia said a handful of detainees became 'a little raucous' when the visitors appeared, but he did not make out what they were saying. Republican state Sen. Jay Collins was in another group and said he also found the detention center to be clean and functioning well: 'No squalor.' Collins said he saw backup generators, a tracking system for dietary restrictions and military-style bunks with good mattresses. The sanitation devices struck him as appropriate, if basic. 'Would I want that toilet-and-sink combination at my bathroom at the house? Probably not, but this is a transitional holding facility,' Collins said by phone. Journalists were not allowed on the tour, and lawmakers were instructed not to bring phones or cameras inside. Messages seeking comment were sent to the state Division of Emergency Management, which built the facility, and to representatives for Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican. DeSantis spokesperson Molly Best highlighted one of Ingoglia's upbeat readouts on social media. Across the state in Tampa, federal Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said 'any issues that were there [at the detention center] have been addressed.' She added that she has talked with five Republican governors she did not name about modeling other facilities on it. DeSantis and fellow Republicans have touted the makeshift detention center, constructed in days as an efficient and get-tough response to President Donald Trump's call for mass deportations. The first detainees arrived July 3, after Trump toured and praised the facility. Described as temporary, it is meant to help the Republican president's administration reach its goal of boosting migrant detention capacity from 41,000 people to at least 100,000. The Florida facility's remote location and its name — a nod to the notorious Alcatraz prison that once housed federal inmates in California — are meant to underscore a message of deterring illegal immigration. Ahead of the facility's opening, state officials said detainees would have access to medical care, consistent air conditioning, a recreation yard, attorneys and clergy members. But detainees and their relatives and advocates have told The Associated Press that conditions are awful, with worm-infested food, toilets overflowing onto floors, mosquitoes buzzing around the fenced bunks, and air conditioners that sometimes shut off in the oppressive South Florida summer heat. One man told his wife that detainees go days without getting showers. Division of Emergency Management spokesperson Stephanie Hartman called those descriptions 'completely false,' saying detainees always get three meals a day, unlimited drinking water, showers and other necessities. 'The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order,' she said. Five Democratic state lawmakers tried to visit the site July 3 but said they were denied access. The state subsequently arranged Saturday's tour. The lawmakers have sued over the earlier denial, accusing the DeSantis administration of impeding their oversight authority. A DeSantis spokesperson has called the lawsuit 'dumb.'
Boston Globe
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Lawmakers visit ‘Alligator Alcatraz' after being blocked
Advertisement Cage-style units of 32 men share three combination toilet-sink devices, the visitors measured the temperature at 83 degrees (28 degrees Celsius) in one area that was billed as air-conditioned and grasshoppers and other insects abound, she and other Democrats said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up President Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem toured "Alligator Alcatraz" on July 1. During a tour on Saturday, journalists weren't allowed inside the facility, and lawmakers were instructed not to bring phones or cameras inside. Evan Vucci/Associated Press Although the visitors said they weren't able to speak with the detainees, Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Democrat from Florida, said one called out 'I'm an American!' and others chanting, 'Libertad!,' a Spanish word for 'freedom.' State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican from Florida, countered that he had seen a well-run, safe facility where the living quarters were clean and the air conditioning worked well. He recalled that a handful of detainees became 'a little raucous' when the visitors appeared but said he didn't make out what they were saying. Advertisement 'The rhetoric coming out of the Democrats does not match the reality,' he said by phone. 'It's a detention center, not the Four Seasons.' Journalists weren't allowed on the tour, and lawmakers were instructed not to bring phones or cameras inside. Messages seeking comment were sent to the state Division of Emergency Management, which built the facility, and to representatives for Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis spokesperson Molly Best highlighted one of Ingoglia's upbeat readouts on social media. Related : DeSantis and fellow Republicans have touted the makeshift detention center — an agglomeration of tents, trailers and temporary buildings constructed in a matter of days — as an efficient and get-tough response to President Donald Trump's call for mass deportations. The first detainees arrived July 3, after Trump toured and praised the facility. Described as temporary, the detention center is meant to help the Republican president's administration reach its goal of boosting the United States' migrant detention capacity from 41,000 people to at least 100,000. The Florida facility's remote location and its name — a nod to the notorious Alcatraz prison that once housed federal inmates in California — are meant to underscore a message of deterring illegal immigration. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke ahead of a tour of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Facility. Some Republicans have claimed that Democrat's "rhetoric" about the detention facility "does not match the reality." Alexandra Rodriguez/Associated Press Ahead of the facility's opening, state officials said detainees would have access to medical care, consistent air conditioning, a recreation yard, attorneys and clergy members. But detainees and their relatives and advocates have told The Associated Press that conditions are awful, with worm-infested food, toilets overflowing onto floors, mosquitoes buzzing around the fenced bunks, and air conditioners that sometimes shut off in the oppressive South Florida summer heat. One man told his wife that detainees go days without getting showers. Advertisement Florida Division of Emergency Management spokesperson Stephanie Hartman called those descriptions 'completely false,' saying detainees always get three meals a day, unlimited drinking water, showers and other necessities. 'The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order,' she said. Five Democratic state lawmakers tried to visit the site when it opened July 3 but said they were denied access. The state subsequently arranged Saturday's tour. The lawmakers have sued over the denial, saying that DeSantis' administration is impeding lawmakers' oversight authority. A DeSantis spokesperson has called the lawsuit 'dumb.' As Democratic officials headed into the facility, they said they expected to be given a sanitized and limited view. Wasserman Schultz told reporters the lawmakers came anyway because they wanted to ask questions and get a sense of the structure and conditions. Peltz reported from New York, and Rodriguez reported from Ochopee.
