{"id":61425,"date":"2025-07-13T05:13:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T05:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/61425\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T05:13:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T05:13:15","slug":"lawmakers-visited-alligator-alcatraz-heres-what-they-say-they-saw-and-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/61425\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers visited Alligator Alcatraz. Here\u2019s what they say they saw and learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time since detainees began arriving at Florida\u2019s makeshift immigrant detention center in the Everglades this month, the DeSantis administration on Saturday gave the outside world a brief glimpse inside Alligator Alcatraz, offering limited, guided tours to members of Congress and the Florida Legislature.<\/p>\n

Just before noon, Democratic and Republican lawmakers entered the facility \u2014 without their phones \u2014 to tour the tents and trailers erected at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport off of U.S. Highway 41. Afterward, they told press gathered outside the perimeter that, over a period of about two hours, they saw the food given to detainees, met with administrators and were given a tour of a new, empty dorm.<\/p>\n

At one point, they said their guide briefly opened the door to an occupied living quarters, where detainees began to shout \u201cLibertad!\u201d Guards stood between the lawmakers and detainees.<\/p>\n

The visit is one of the state\u2019s first steps toward transparency at a hastily erected site<\/a> housing hundreds of migrant detainees slated for deportation by the federal government. Several lawmakers said they were told by the director of the Division of Emergency Management, which oversees the site, that the plan is to deport all detainees within two weeks of their arrival.<\/p>\n

The DeSantis administration has so far refused to release a list of the men housed at the facility, or say how many people are kept in its cells, built inside heavy duty tents. Several lawmakers said the few staffers who would speak to them told them roughly 900 migrants are being detained on site.<\/p>\n

Attorneys and families say they have had trouble locating detainees, who during the first days of operations have shared stories of toilets that don\u2019t flush<\/a>, extreme temperatures and low-quality food. The day after the first detainees arrived, Democrats were turned away at the gates. The state has ignored the Miami Herald\u2019s requests to visit the facility.<\/p>\n

\"Rena<\/p>\n

Rena Mourer, who is in favor of Alligator Alcatraz, waves a Betsy Ross 1776 American flag at the front entrance to Alligator Alcatraz as Florida lawmakers and members of Congress tour the detention facility located within the Florida Everglades, 36 miles west of the central business district of Miami, in Collier County, Florida Saturday, July 12, 2025.<\/p>\n

But after touring the site, Republican state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia said the facility looked nothing like the poor descriptions laid out over the last week in press reports. He said he took the opportunity to lay down in one of the beds for detainees, describing it as \u201cbetter than my bed at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I will tell you is that the rhetoric does not match the reality of what you guys have been hearing from Democrats, especially congressional Democrats. It\u2019s actually a well-run facility,\u201d Ingoglia told reporters. \u201cThe idea that the detainees are in there and they\u2019re in squalid conditions is just not accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/p>\n

Mark Ribas of Naples, a demonstrator in support of Alligator Alcatraz, stands near the gate entrance to the detention facility. It is within the Florida Everglades, 36 miles west of the central business district of Miami, in Collier County, Florida Saturday, July 12, 2025.<\/p>\n

Before entering, Democrats, who have wanted to conduct unannounced tours of the facility, expressed skepticism about whether their limited view would reflect the day-to-day reality for detainees. \u201cWe expect they will show us little to nothing,\u201d said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost brought along a binder filled with photos of people he said his constituents had asked him to look for while inside. Frost and others said they were denied access to speak with any of the detainees, without explanation.<\/p>\n

Afterward, they didn\u2019t directly dispute Ingoglia\u2019s comments about the cleanliness of the detention center, but said they had been kept from getting a good look at the bathroom and living facilities that are currently being used by detainees. Wasserman Schultz said she brought a thermometer that showed the temperature at roughly 83 degrees at the threshold to a dorm where detainees were being held. She also noted that food portions appeared to be smaller at the Everglades facility than in the Krome Detention Center.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.<\/p>\n

U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz walks to her vehicle after a press conference before touring Alligator Alcatraz. The facility is within the Florida Everglades, 36 miles west of the central business district of Miami, in Collier County, Florida Saturday, July 12, 2025.<\/p>\n

Democrats also focused on what they said they learned at the facility: They said officials clarified repeatedly that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is \u201ccalling the shots\u201d at the detention center \u2014 an open question after the agency\u2019s acting deputy associate director of enforcement and removal operations downplayed federal involvement.<\/p>\n

In a declaration filed in response to a lawsuit by environmental groups challenging the facility\u2019s operations, Thomas P. Giles wrote that ICE\u2019s role concerning the development of the site \u201chas been limited to touring the facility to ensure compliance with ICE detention standards, and meeting with officials from the State of Florida to discuss operational matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ultimate decision of who to detain\u201d at Alligator Alcatraz, he wrote, \u201cbelongs to Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

ICE has repeatedly deferred press questions about the facility to the state of Florida.<\/p>\n

Democrats said there are 32 detainees per \u201ccage,\u201d that detainees are given color-coded wristbands to identify those with criminal convictions, and that private contractors appeared to be largely staffing the interior of the facility.<\/p>\n

They also said they plan to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you many of us will be back for unannounced visits to see how things are,\u201d Frost said.<\/p>\n

A Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the details relayed by lawmakers.<\/p>\n

\"Protesters<\/p>\n

Protesters arrive at the front entrance as Florida lawmakers and members of Congress tour Alligator Alcatraz. The facility is within the Florida Everglades, 36 miles west of the central business district of Miami, in Collier County, Florida Saturday, July 12, 2025.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.<\/p>\n

U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz is greeted by Miccosukee tribe member Betty Osceola after touring Alligator Alcatraz. The facility is located within the Florida Everglades, 36 miles west of the central business district of Miami, in Collier County, Florida Saturday, July 12, 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time since detainees began arriving at Florida\u2019s makeshift immigrant detention center in the Everglades this…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":61426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[32234,44221,43615,38333,31931,44223,44222,159,67,132,68,837],"class_list":{"0":"post-61425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-alligator-alcatraz","9":"tag-blaise-ingoglia","10":"tag-debbie-wasserman-schultz","11":"tag-detention-center","12":"tag-florida-legislature","13":"tag-maxwell-frost","14":"tag-republican-lawmakers","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114844218581381255","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}