Alligator Alcatraz – Pictured: Gator in the Florida Everglades — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Thierry Eidenweil
Lawmakers from Florida were given their first tour of Alligator Alcatraz, a brand-new migrant detention center in the Everglades.
For weeks, Democratic lawmakers had been requesting a tour of the prison after detainees complained about “inhumane” conditions. To gain entry, a group of politicians had filed a lawsuit against the administration of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. When politicians from both parties arrived at the location on Saturday, demonstrators were lining the streets.
“We saw people, of course, yelling for help,” said Representative Maxwell Frost, another Democrat. “We even saw someone yelling in the background, ‘I’m an American citizen.'”
Despite not having the opportunity to meet any of the inmates, Florida Democrats who spent several hours visiting the facility described the circumstances they observed as “appalling” and said that the food portions for the inmates were smaller than those for the staff. Democratic members claimed they were not allowed to use their phones or take photos inside. Media access to the holding facility has also been refused by authorities.
The facility was referred to as “an internment camp” by Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a social media post. “I brought a thermostat in with me — a manual thermostat,” she said. “In the medical area, it was 85 degrees.”
According to the detainees, they had gone days without taking a shower or getting their prescribed medication, and occasionally, in the intense heat, the air conditioners would suddenly turn off.
Such accounts of the conditions in the detention facility have been refuted by officials. Stephanie Hartman, a spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which constructed the facility, stated: “The reporting on the conditions in the facility is completely false.” The facility is in good operating order and satisfies all necessary requirements.
Democratic Representative Darren Soto stated on Saturday that “water has to be trucked into this facility — no working pipes.” “It makes no sense [that] this is here.”
“Their drinking water comes from the toilet,” stated Frost. “You’re using the toilet, but you can’t drink water.”
Republican lawmakers who were given a tour likewise expressed satisfaction with their observations.
“I’ll tell you, I actually lay down on a bed in one of the places. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican state senator, stated, “I think the bed was more comfortable than my bed at home.” “I’m not kidding.”
At the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the heart of the Florida Everglades, Alligator Alcatraz was constructed and opened in under eight days.
Following detainees’ allegations of “inhumane” circumstances, local, state, and federal lawmakers had been requesting to tour the institution. Detainees’ descriptions of the conditions were relayed by CBS News Miami. A detainee’s girlfriend shared a call online in which he and others claimed to have insufficient food and water.
The claims have been refuted by the authorities.
Lawmakers told CBS News Miami that they are planning an unannounced visit at a later time and that they would like to hold hearings on Alligator Alcatraz.
“When I was in that facility, looking at those cages, I saw young men who looked exactly like me,” Frost recalled. “So, there will be hearings and there will be accountability.”
Daniella Levine Cava, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, told CBS News Miami that she has not yet been given the opportunity to view the facility and was not there at the tour on Saturday. According to her, the state took over the property from the county, which further calls into doubt local governance and authority. Additionally, Cava expressed her hope for regular access to Alligator Alcatraz.
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
