Florida’s infamous detention center, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” has begun deporting people. State officials predict this practice will increase significantly in the weeks to come. The facility, located in the rural Everglades region about 40 miles from Miami, has become a focal point of debate regarding immigration policies and treatment of detainees.
The detention camp is 39-acres and was constructed in haste. It now protects more than 1,000 men living in temporary tents, often having to relocate due to flooding. Florida officials have claimed that the facility is capable of holding 2,000 people at the moment. They’ve committed to longer-term expansion including increasing its capacity to 4,000 detainees in the future.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced that they had removed hundreds of undocumented people from the farm. A significant number of these detainees reportedly have no documented criminal record or no outstanding criminal charge awaiting. Even as this deportation process moves at lightning speed. We hope to see thousands more just like them returned to their home countries in the very near future.
The camp gained notoriety during the Trump administration, with former President Donald Trump stating that it would serve as a holding place for “deranged psychopaths” and “some of the most vicious people on the planet” awaiting deportation. This characterization has ignited a firestorm of criticism. In light of the facility’s horrendous conditions, most recently, non-profit organizations demanded the facility’s closure.
Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, stood by the facility’s standards. He stated that “whether it’s Florida standard or national standard [of conditions and services in detention facilities], we meet or exceed the higher standard.”
Democrats have personally filed lawsuits to gain entry to the facility. They’re worried about scrutiny and transparency and how the detainees are treated. So far, according to reports, only two or three flights have actually departed from the detention center. We still don’t know where these flights are going.
Alligator Alcatraz perched on a marshy outcropping, all around us were alligators, crocodiles, pythons, and a furious cloud of man-eating mosquitoes. Local officials and critics alike point to this brutal environment as the poster child for the harmful conditions people are subjected to there.
State Planning Florida is increasing enforcement immigration measures and deportations. State officials have indicated they want to ramp up those deportation flights from the facility.
“We look forward to this cadence increasing.” – Kevin Guthrie