South Floridians line up outside ICE facility where Haitian woman died to protest Alligator Alcatraz, Trump's immigration policies
This comes after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received additional funding from the president's "big, beautiful bill" and after a new ICE detention center opened in the Florida Everglades this week.
Questions left unanswered in detained Haitian woman's death
Protestors lined up outside the Broward Transitional Center on Saturday, which is where 44-year-old Marie Ange Blaise died while in ICE custody on April 25. Immigration officials said she had entered the U.S. without permission. The cause of her death is under investigation.
"We wanna make sure those things don't happen again to our children [and] to other immigrants," said organizer Widline Pierre. "We wanna make sure those things are preventable."
Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus McCormick attended the protest, saying she wants a hearing to find out why Blaise died. ICE's website said seven people have died in its custody so far this year.
"We also need to take a good look at what's going on within the facilities," the congresswoman said. "Right after she died we came to this facility and we looked at it. And we tried to speak to some of the medical personnel and they were very evasive. And they said that they would be providing us with information that we still have not received."
Pierre said she feels immigrants are being treated unfairly.
"What they're doing is not about enforcing the rules; it's about belittling the immigration communities," Pierre said. "We're being bullied."
Alligator Alcatraz controversy continues
The protesters here were also speaking out against the new ICE detention facility down in the Everglades: Alligator Alcatraz. It was put together in about eight days, and the first group of migrants was sent to the facility this week.
Elena Munoz told CBS News Miami that the facility is inhumane since it's surrounded by alligators and pythons.
"It's the worst thing for many, many things," she said. "First, it should not be in that land. First of all. Second, it's not in a safe place."
On top of that, ICE got a big funding boost on Friday when President Trump signed his "big, beautiful bill" into law, which added $75 million for new ICE agents and for building more detention facilities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
20 minutes ago
- Fox News
Red state now offers preferred parking for pregnant women
Florida is days into allowing pregnant women to apply for an "expectant mother parking permit" and the reactions are mixed. The law went into effect on July 1, and allows pregnant women to use accessible parking spaces for up to one year after the date of issuance. "Having been pregnant myself in the Florida heat, it is hard to struggle across a big parking lot when you are nine months pregnant, especially if you have other kids, and you are dragging gear to park all the way in the back of the parking lot and walk past those empty handicap spots," State Rep. Fiona McFarland told FOX 13 Tampa Bay Women who do plan to apply for and use a temporary placard must pay a one-time fee of $15. "You've got enough on your plate—make parking easier." a Facebook post by Bay County tax Collector Chuck Perdue on June 30 said. Social media responses are coming in from both sympathizers and those in opposition. "Friend we don't have to waddle so far," one woman said while tagging another Facebook user. Meanwhile, on the Seminole County Tax Collector's post about the temporary permits, someone said, "Seriously? Pregnancy is not a disability!" In Florida, tax collectors are authorized agents for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which allows people to conduct motor vehicle division services in the tax collector's offices. "I've been really healthy, so I think it's important to try and walk and do the best you can to stay active, if you can," expectant mother Danielle Marple told FOX 13. "I'm glad that there are people who, if they need the assistance, they can have it, but I certainly hope it's just not abused and that the people who have the disabilities or need the help are able to get it," she said.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Deadly shooting erupts as police work to disperse crowd in south Tallahassee; man arrested
A man is dead after he was shot July 6 in a large crowd gathered in South Tallahassee. "Officers on scene were attempting to disperse a large crowd at 3030 South Adams Street when a shooting occurred," an incident alert from the Tallahassee Police Department says. Following the shooting at about 2:40 a.m. near the entrance of the University Courtyard Apartments, located at 3025 South Adams Street, a man was found dead from a gunshot wound. A homicide investigation was immediately launched, and another man, who was "observed by officers shooting a gun during the incident," was taken into custody. TPD did not release the man's name or the charges he faces. No other details were provided about the incident. The case remains open and active and detectives ask anyone who may have information about the incident, but did not speak with an officer on scene, to call 850-891-4200. They may also remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward by calling Crime Solvers at 850-574-TIPS. This is the 12th fatal shooting in a year that has seen at least 33 serious shootings that have left 23 people injured, according to a Tallahassee Democrat analysis of gun violence. William Hatfield is editor of the Tallahassee Democrat. Email him at whatfield@ This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee shooting in crowd near University Courtyard Apartments
New York Post
35 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump's ‘Alligator Alcatraz' migrant center: Letters to the Editor — July 7, 2025
The Issue: President Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigrant detention center in the Everglades. Is that what Dems think a concentration camp is ('Peek into 'Swamp cooler,' ' July 2)? The main component of concentration camps were the gas chambers. Alligator Alcatraz has air conditioning. This is a good place for the ICE rioters to go. I love it. Carol Meltzer Manhattan Forget attractions like Miami Beach and Disney World. Florida has a new tourist destination called 'Alligator Alcatraz.' That's right: The state is spending $450 million a year to lock up every immigrant it can catch; many who have been here for years picking produce, cleaning toilets, changing sheets at our hotels, fixing your roof, washing dishes at your favorite restaurant and doing jobs that no American wants to do. Some states have very patriotic symbols of immigration: New York has the Statue of Liberty that long welcomed immigrants to our shores. Here in the 'Free State of Florida,' we have Alligator Alcatraz. Since we use these immigrants for their services more than any other state, that makes us the nation's biggest pack of hypocrites. John Bonano Gulfport, Fla. So now the weak, cowardly, infantile, looney Democrats are whining about sending illegal immigrant thugs to a prison surrounded by alligators. And the Dems still can't figure out why we don't vote for them. Jake McNicholas Whitestone The newly built Alligator Alcatraz center to detain illegal migrants slated for deportation has been branded by liberals like Joy Reid as a 'concentration camp for brown people.' Reid is a hard-core, far-left radical and this 'concentration camp' label is a reflection of her severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Democrats need to have their history refreshed. 'Concentration camps' was the term mostly used during Nazi Germany's brutal rule. They were death camps set up specifically for one use only: the assembly-line murder of 6 million completely innocent Jews. No one came out alive. Plus: The left probably knows, but chooses to ignore, the fact that during World War II it was a Democratic president, Franklin Roosevelt, who incarcerated innocent, law-abiding, American citizens simply because they were of Japanese descent. Max Wisotsky Highland Park, NJ I never thought that I would live long enough to see a US president support a detention facility that holds people without due process in the Florida Everglades surrounded by snakes. Vin Morabito Scranton, Pa. The Issue: The University of Pennsylvania strips transgender swimmer Lia Thomas' past titles. It is completely acceptable for Lia Thomas to be stripped of her titles in female events ('Penn yanks trans titles,' July 2). However, there should be a separate category for transgender women with its own awards and records. If a transgender woman finishes in the top three in an event, she should be entitled to a medal, but it should be in addition to the medals awarded to the top three cisgender women. Everyone should be allowed to compete, but they should not have complete freedom as to which category they compete in. Bruce Couchman Toronto, Canada The actions undertaken by the University of Pennsylvania to nullify its transgender swimmer's titles is nothing less than a tacit expression of what has been known all along: This was a biological man competing against young women in grievously unfair athletic competitions. Anthony Parks Garden City Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@ Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
