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The Independent
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees have no criminal record: report
Hundreds of detainees held at Alligator Alcatraz, the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, do not have criminal records or charges pending against them in the U.S. -- despite President Donald Trump claiming the facility would hold 'the most vicious people on the planet.' A preliminary review of the more than 700 people being held at the temporary facility found that one-third of detainees had criminal convictions, according to The Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times . Around 250 people listed in the facility had immigration violations, which are civil offenses. The report contradicts the president's claim that the remote, maximum-security facility would hold the 'most menacing migrants.' Alligator Alcatraz, which was quickly converted from an abandoned airport to a detention center, is holding hundreds of alleged undocumented immigrants behind chain-link fences inside tents. Managed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, it is meant to alleviate pressure on local jails, and assist Trump in carrying out his mass deportation agenda. A review of more than 700 detainees held at Alligator Alcatraz found that one-third had criminal convictions (REUTERS) The facility is expected to hold a maximum of 3,000 people. Conditions at the facility have sparked outrage from Democratic lawmakers and members of the public, who have described it as an 'internment camp.' Several detainees have spoken out, claiming conditions are bleak with maggot-infested food, no water for bathing, and blinding lights kept on 24/7. 'They are essentially packed into cages, wall-to-wall humans, 32 detainees per cage,' Florida Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz told reporters after visiting the facility over the weekend. 'The only thing inside those cages are their bunk beds, and there are three tiny toilets,' Wasserman Schultz said. Public support for Alligator Alcatraz is low. A July poll from YouGov found that 48 percent of people were against the detention facility. The abandoned airport was quickly turned into a detention facility to assist in Trump's mass deportation agenda (AP) But Trump is determined to fulfill his campaign promise of rounding up all undocumented immigrants and deporting them, either back to their country of origin or a third country willing to take displaced people. 'It's amazing the lengths that the Fake News media will go to try and provide cover for criminal illegal aliens,' Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson said in a statement. 'The absence of a US criminal record is an irrelevant measure when many criminal illegal aliens have charges for rape, assault, terrorism, and more in their native country, or other countries abroad. 'And every single one of these illegal aliens committed another crime when they entered the country illegally. The Trump Administration will continue carrying out the largest mass deportation operation in history by removing public safety threats from American communities,' Jackson said. Although recent reporting indicates that hundreds of detainees at Alligator Alcatraz do not have criminal convictions or pending charges in the U.S., there are detainees being held for criminal offenses. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier provided a list of six men being held at the Everglades facility who were convicted of crimes ranging from murder to burglary to Fox News. During his campaign, Trump misrepresented many, if not most, undocumented immigrants as violent criminals. Most evidence does not support this claim. While the president said his focus would be on convicted criminals, around 70 percent of all detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody are being held for civil violations, not criminal convictions, according to Trace Reports.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Is your family member or client at Alligator Alcatraz? We obtained a list
The Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times has obtained a list of more than 700 people who have been detained or appear to be scheduled to be sent to the Florida-run immigration detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz. The DeSantis administration has not made public a list of names of the immigrants held at the facility in heavy duty tents at an airstrip in the Florida Everglades. Individuals sent to the makeshift detention center do not show up in an online government database that allows the public to search for immigrant detainees' whereabouts. Lawyers say they have had difficulty locating clients sent to the site, often learning that they are there when detainees call family members. The list — made public for the first time here — was shared with the Department of Homeland Security and the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which oversees the site. Neither disputed its accuracy. READ MORE: Hundreds at Alligator Alcatraz have no criminal charges or convictions, records show The list is not exhaustive and it is subject to change as the detention facility's population fluctuates. The Herald/Times searched each of the 747 names in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Detainee Locator. Only 40 appeared on the public-facing website, most of them listed as being located at nearby facilities, and three marked with a note to 'call field office.' Do you know someone detained at Alligator Alcatraz? We'd like to hear from you The Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is overseeing the site's operations, has not said how many people are held at the facility. Democratic lawmakers who toured the site on Saturday said detention center employees told them that there are about 750 detainees at the site. Miami Herald reporters Siena Duncan, Milena Malaver, Churchill Ndonwie and Jay Weaver, and el Nuevo Herald reporter Antonio Maria Delgado contributed to this report.