Democratic lawmakers got their first glimpse today of the detention facility in the Florida Everglades—commonly referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The visit follows a recent lawsuit initiated after Democrats were previously denied access to the facility. News 6 Reporter Jarell Baker interviewed State Representatives LaVon Bracy Davis and Rita Harris, alongside State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, just before they boarded a Brightline train back to Orlando.
“Rural immigrant detention camps—750 people in cages like animals—is un-American, and it should be shut down,” Smith said.
[VIDEO: Alligator Alcatraz detainee unreachable, Orlando immigration attorney claims]
Smith, alongside Representatives Bracy Davis and Harris, joined a group of Democrats to finally tour the 3,000-bed Everglades detention facility for the first time.
“It was very planned. There were Department of Emergency Management employees there that aren’t usually there,” said Davis.
Lawmakers reported that they were not permitted to converse with any of the 750 detainees, who allegedly have no current criminal charges. Moreover, they were not allowed to enter areas containing occupied cages or tents that house detainees. This scheduled visit follows a lawsuit filed this week after an incident earlier this month, where a Democratic group arrived unannounced and was refused entry—suggesting that lawmakers were unlawfully restricted from oversight.
[Video: President Trump visits ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Florida]
“Part of the power that we have—the ability that we have—is the ability to go into facilities unannounced so that we can take inventory, make sure that things are being done the way they are supposed to be done,” said Harris.
A spokesperson from Gov. DeSantis’ office told News 6 the lawsuit was “frivolous” and “a dumb lawsuit.”
U.S. Representative Randy Fine said told News 6 “Regular Floridians are struggling—in large part because of illegal immigrants—due to rising property insurance rates, auto insurance rates, and education costs. I wish they cared about Floridians more than foreigners.”
[VIDEO: Environmental groups sue to stop ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Florida migrant center]
Several Republican lawmakers said the 3,000-bed detention facility is an efficient, “get-tough” response to President Donald Trump’s call for mass deportations. News 6 also reached out to Representative Fine, who is in Washington, D.C., for further comment.
“Remember, we’re talking about people who aren’t supposed to be in this country, and the purpose of Alligator Alcatraz is not to give them a vacation, but to get them out of our country,” Fine said.
The Democratic lawmakers believe that the $450 million facility is inhumane and a waste of money. They say it costs the state more to detain an immigrant in the facility than to house an inmate in a state prison.
“Why aren’t we investing this money in our public schools? We could hire 8,200 new public school teachers in Florida with $450 million. We need people to get down here so they can see how much government waste is happening at the Everglades detention camp,” one lawmaker said.
Democrats claim they could sue federal and state agencies over alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act.
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