TikToker Creates Fake 'Alligator Alcatraz' Tour Company That Redirects MAGA Supporters to Migrant Aid Resources
Lisandra Vazquez, a comedian with more than 830,000 followers on TikTok, created the fake tour company " Terri's Tourz ," which offers both "basic" and "VIP" tours of the newly erected migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades.
However, when visitors try to purchase tickets for the tours or try to enter parts of the site claiming to lead them to merch or information about the alligators, users are instead sent to various nonprofits that offer legal and/or financial support for migrants, such as the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and Border Kindness .
Vazquez, who is known for creating sketches mocking politicians, created the site as part of a video she did acting as "Terri," a female business owner boasting tours and allowing those interested to "claim an alligator" for $4,547.
If the alligator someone "claimed" later "eats an illegal," Terri said they could win a gift card to a "non-DEI business."
As the TikTok gained traction online, with more than 211,000 views as of Tuesday, Vazquez revisited the site to add a pop-up at the request of TikTok users so that visitors could be asked to submit their emails. In exchange for submitting their email, visitors would then be eligible for "20% off" of the fake tours.
Vazquez said she has not yet decided what to send signees who do input their emails, but told her followers she was "open to ideas" in a comment. However, she warned her followers who were in on the joke, "Please resist the urge to put your email in unless you want to be considered one of them."
In the last 24 hours, the comedian shared that her site had received more than 6,000 visits, though it is not clear how many of those were from her fans.
The newly constructed facility has sparked both humanitarian and environmental concerns. The detention center was built in the Florida Everglades, an environmentally sensitive area bordering Miccosukee and Seminole tribal lands.
Five Democratic Florida lawmakers attempted to visit the facility over the weekend, but were reportedly denied entry. Days later, detainees at the facility began speaking about allegedly not having water for regular showers and finding "maggots" in their food.
The Trump administration has defended the construction of the facility, claiming it is in the interest of American safety and security. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously said the administration plans to house up to 5,000 migrants at the detention center.
Originally published on Latin Times
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