Democratic lawmakers and immigration attorneys are raising alarms over conditions at Florida’s new Everglades migrant detention center, known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” During a weekend tour of the facility (which remains closed to journalists and cameras), elected officials described bug-infested tents, overflowing toilets, unmedicated detainees, and extreme heat inside cage-style units housing up to 32 people. Some detainees reportedly go days without basic hygiene or medical care, and advocates say meals are served in unsanitary conditions, including reports of worms found in the food.
Those held include many individuals with no criminal records and at least one teenage boy, according to multiple attorneys. The makeshift facility, built on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland, has a reported maximum capacity of 3,000 people.
Critics have drawn sharp comparisons to wartime internment camps, citing the secrecy, isolation, and reported mistreatment. Despite mounting legal challenges, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she has spoken with five unnamed Republican governors about modeling similar facilities in other states.
