‘What are they hiding?' Florida lawmakers shut out of Alligator Alcatraz

Miami Herald

18 hours ago

In a surprising and possibly unlawful act, five state legislators were denied entry Thursday into a taxpayer-funded migrant detention center deep in the Everglades, raising questions about what will happen behind the razor-wire fences that are being erected surrounding the controversial facility the state has named Alligator Alcatraz.
Armed only with state law and a growing list of humanitarian concerns, state Senators Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith, along with Representatives Anna V. Eskamani, Angie Nixon and Michele Rayner, arrived at the gates of the facility to conduct what they saw as a legally authorized inspection. What they encountered instead was silence, locked doors and a bureaucratic wall.
The state's shifting justification for not letting them in — first a flat denial, then vague 'safety concerns' — only fueled suspicions.
'This is a blatant abuse of power and an attempt to conceal human rights violations from the public eye,' the legislators said in a joint statement. 'If the facility is unsafe for elected officials to enter, then how can it possibly be safe for those being detained inside?'
Just hours earlier, Republican officials and even former President Donald Trump had toured the same site without issue. When the lawmakers attempted to speak with Florida Department of Emergency Management officials by phone, the call was abruptly cut off.
Now, with reports of flooding, extreme heat and detainees allegedly being held without due process, legislators say the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis administration is operating a secretive, $450 million detention network with no oversight— and no regard for the law.
The state legislators Michele Rayner arrived at the site to conduct what they said was a lawful inspection under Florida Statutes 944.23 and 951.225, which grant legislators access to state-operated detention centers without advance notice. Instead of transparency, they were met with locked gates and silence.
Under Florida law, members of the Legislature have the clear right to access any state-run detention facility, including prisons and jails, without needing prior approval or notification. That legal mandate was ignored, according to Representative Michele Rayner, a civil rights attorney who represents parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
'For two hours, we waited. We cited the law. We cited the press release announcing our visit. Still, we were denied,' said Rayner. 'They cited 'safety concerns,' even though just hours earlier President Trump and GOP lawmakers had toured the very same facility.'
Rayner said that when she asked whether she could visit a client being detained inside, she was again refused—contradicting statements made to her moments earlier by Florida Department of Emergency Management officials. When legislators tried to clarify the denial with the agency's general counsel and legislative affairs director, the call was abruptly disconnected.
'This is America right now,' Rayner said. 'And everyone should be concerned.'
The delegation's visit came just one day after migrants were transferred into the detention center despite flooding caused by ongoing summer storms. Lawmakers say they've received reports of extreme heat, poor infrastructure, and a lack of mosquito protection, conditions they say that may be endangering the health and safety of detainees.
'I was bitten by insects as soon as I got here. My lips started to swell. And I'm outside for just a few minutes,' said Rep. Angie Nixon of Jacksonville. 'Imagine what it's like for the people inside who don't have bug spray or clean bedding.'
Nixon expressed particular concern over reports in the Miami Herald that pregnant women and children could be housed in the facility. 'We're spending $450 million on this while refusing to expand Medicaid and closing public schools in Duval County,' she said. 'This is not about public safety—it's about cruelty as campaign theater.'
Smith did not mince words, calling the site a 'makeshift immigrant detainment camp in the middle of the Everglades swamp,' built through no-bid contracts awarded to major Republican campaign donors.
'This isn't about detaining dangerous criminals,' Smith said. 'It's about detaining housekeepers, cooks, and immigrants who had legal status five minutes ago—until it was stripped away by policy.'
Smith referenced a Miami Herald story that revealed the state may bring pregnant women and children to the site, despite public claims that the facility was intended for 'the worst of the worst.' ICE data shows that fewer than 10% of current immigration detainees in Florida have any violent criminal history, and the majority had no prior offenses.
'We're detaining vulnerable people for political spectacle,' Smith said. 'And it's not a coincidence this facility was unveiled just days after our legislative session ended—avoiding any real oversight.'
Jones added that the facility, built with $450 million in state funds, does not qualify for federal support. 'The federal government has said this facility is ineligible for grants,' he said. 'That means it's 100% on Florida taxpayers—and it was done without a single committee hearing or floor debate.'
Jones emphasized that both Democratic and Republican lawmakers should be concerned. 'This is not a partisan issue,' he said. 'We have a duty to ensure that state-funded operations uphold basic standards of decency and legality.'
Rep. Anna Eskamani from Orlando described the detention center as a 'political stunt' orchestrated by DeSantis. 'Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent to build what is essentially a concentration camp,' she said. 'This is government by press conference and no-bid contract.'
Eskamani said reports indicate that the first detainees arrived without due process, and flooding had already compromised parts of the facility. 'We're here because the people of Florida deserve transparency. What is being hidden behind these walls?'
All five lawmakers said they plan to pursue legal remedies and initiate legislative inquiries into the construction, contracting, and operation of Alligator Alcatraz.
They also demanded that the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the governor's office provide a full accounting of who is detained at the facility, what conditions exist inside, and which companies received contracts—particularly those with political ties to the DeSantis administration.
'This is not over,' said Smith. 'We will be back, and we will not stop until we get the answers Floridians deserve.'