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A diplomat from Mexico has urged citizens to rethink plans to travel to Florida in light of the state opening a migrant detention center named Alligator Alcatraz.
Juan Sabines, Mexico’s consul in Orlando, issued the dire warning this week in an interview with Talking Points Memo.
‘They should take precautions or not come to Florida,’ Sabines said. ‘You should take extreme precautions when you come to Florida.’
Sabines advised that any Mexican visitors should always have their documents on hand and ensure that they rent vehicles from reputable companies.
‘They will detain you here for anything,’ he said.
‘It’s a state that has more risks than other states… including for people with visas,’ the diplomat added.
Sabines’ concerns are due in part to the detention of Mexican siblings, Carlos González, 26, and Óscar González, 30, who were taken into custody on July 7 after a traffic stop.
Carlos, who was in the country legally on an active tourism visa, was stopped by a state trooper while driving a car that had tinted windows. He did not have the vehicle’s registration on him.
Pictured: Clearwater Beach, Florida. Mexicans have been cautioned to not go to the US state
U.S. President Donald Trump visited the migrant detention center on July 1
Óscar, who is married to a U.S. citizen, arrived on the scene to present the documents and was also arrested.
US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Reuters that Carlos had not registered his vehicle with the state and had accumulated 212 violations for not paying tolls.
The lawyer assigned to represent the brothers has not been permitted to see them since they were sent to Alligator Alcatraz, which is located in Ochopee in the Florida Everglades.
Sabines slammed the Trump administration for not providing the González brothers and other detainees ‘the right to a fair trial.’
‘The two of them don’t want to stay in the U.S. These men already want to go to Mexico, but they won’t let them,’ he told Talking Points Memo.
‘And why? I don’t know. We don’t understand the reason they are still in prison. … It’s not the right way to do things.’
The consul’s comments came as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called on the Trump administration to release each of the detainees being held at Alligator Alcatraz and to send them back to Mexico.
‘The consulate is checking whether there are human rights violations,’ Sheinbaum said. ‘If so, the protocol that must be followed is followed. But what we have requested is that they be deported immediately, so we can repatriate them.’
Alligator Alcatraz is located in Ochopee in the Florida Everglades and sits on wetlands surrounded by alligators, crocodiles and pythons
An aerial view shows Alligator Alcatraz where people who are accused of migration infractions are being detained
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called on the Trump administration to release each of the detainees being held at Alligator Alcatraz and to send them back to Mexico
A total of 73,533 people – including 67,008 Mexican nationals – have been returned to Mexico since Trump took on January 20.
Detainees at Alligator Alcatraz have described harsh conditions at the facility, including dozens of inmates being corralled in cages and disorienting conditions.
A Cuban migrant said the lights stay on around the clock, leaving him clueless as to the time of day, and that inmates are only permitted to shower every three to four days.
An Argentine migrant described the center’s conditions as unsanitary while citing extreme temperature swings, mosquito infestations, and a lack of privacy.
A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Emergency Management defended the new facility, claiming the allegations against the center are ‘completely false.’
