Alligator Alcatraz opens in Florida: First migrants moved to remote Everglades facility
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Immigrants Arrive at Remote Detention Center: Alligator Alcatraz
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Florida Facility Built in 8 Days, Can Hold Thousands
Detentions Under Federal-State Agreement
State Lawmakers and Activists Push Back Against Alligator Alcatraz
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The first batch of immigrants has been taken to a newly constructed detention center deep in the Florida Everglades in a distant location, which has been nicknamed " Alligator Alcatraz ," as per an AP report.The facility, built to house thousands of detainees, opened this week amid political backlash, and human rights protests against the center, according to the report. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier 's spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press that the immigrants are being sheltered there but did not give figures on how many have arrived or when specifically, as per the AP report. Press Secretary for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Jae Williams said that, 'People are there,' without sharing any more details, as per the report.Attorney General Uthmeier posted on social media X, 'Next stop: back to where they came from,' as quoted by AP. Uthmeier has been credited as the architect behind the Everglades proposal, as reported by AP.ALSO READ: First it was alligator prisons in Florida, now Alaska wants a Bear Alcatraz for migrants The eight-day constructed detention center, erected on an airport training facility, can hold about 3,000 detainees initially, according to the AP report. Governor Ron DeSantis commended the speed of construction and security features, including the 200-plus security cameras, miles of barbed wire fencing, and hundreds of on-site security guards, as per the AP report. Expansion plans are in the works to add 500 beds at a time until it can accommodate approximately 5,000 individuals by early July, according to the report.A Trump administration official told AP that the immigrants who are arrested by Florida law enforcement officers under the federal government's 287(g) program will be taken to the facility, as reported by AP.ALSO READ : July 4th stimulus? What to know about possible payments before Independence Day Meanwhile, a group of Florida Democratic state lawmakers went to the facility on Thursday to conduct 'an official legislative site visit,' over concerns about conditions for detainees, legislators said, 'As lawmakers, we have both the legal right and moral responsibility to inspect this site, demand answers, and expose this abuse before it becomes the national blueprint,' as quoted in the report.Even human rights advocates and Native American tribes have voiced their concerns that it is a threat to the fragile Everglades system and would be cruel to detainees because of heat and mosquitoes, and is on land the tribes consider sacred, as reported in the AP article.ALSO READ: US job market sees 147,000 new jobs in June amid Trump's trade war uncertainties It's a nickname for a newly built immigrant detention center deep in the Florida Everglades, created by the DeSantis administration, as per the AP report.It opened with capacity for about 3,000 people and is set to expand to house up to 5,000 by early July, as per the AP report.
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