Latest news with #environmentalGroups
CBS News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
First group of immigrants set to arrive at "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center in Everglades
The first group of immigrants were scheduled to arrive Wednesday night at a new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that officials have dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," the state's attorney general said. "Alligator Alcatraz will be checking in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens tonight," Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said on the X social media platform. "Next stop: back to where they came from." The facility, at an airport used for training, will have a capacity of about 3,000 detainees when fully operational, according to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said. The center was built in eight days over 10 miles of Everglades. It features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet of barbed wire and 400 security personnel. Environmental groups and Native American tribes have protested against the center, contending it is a threat to the fragile Everglades system, would be cruel to detainees because of heat and mosquitoes, and is on land the tribes consider sacred. DeSantis and other state officials say locating the facility in the rugged and remote Florida Everglades is meant as a deterrent, and naming it after the notorious federal prison of Alcatraz, an island fortress known for its brutal conditions, is meant to send a message. It's another sign of how the Trump administration and its allies are relying on scare tactics to try to persuade people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily. State and federal officials have touted the plans on social media and conservative airwaves, sharing a meme of a compound ringed with barbed wire and "guarded" by alligators wearing hats labeled "ICE" for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Republican Party of Florida has taken to fundraising off the detention center, selling branded T-shirts and beer koozies emblazoned with the facility's name.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center is set to receive its first group of immigrants
The first group of immigrants were scheduled to arrive Wednesday night at a new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that officials have dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' the state's attorney general said. 'Alligator Alcatraz will be checking in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens tonight," Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said on the X social media platform. "Next stop: back to where they came from.' The facility, at an airport used for training, will have a capacity of about 3,000 detainees when fully operational, according to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said. The center was built in eight days over 10 miles (16 kilometers) of Everglades. It features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire and 400 security personnel. Environmental groups and Native American tribes have protested against the center, contending it is a threat to the fragile Everglades system, would be cruel to detainees because of heat and mosquitoes, and is on land the tribes consider sacred. DeSantis and other state officials say locating the facility in the rugged and remote Florida Everglades is meant as a deterrent, and naming it after the notorious federal prison of Alcatraz, an island fortress known for its brutal conditions, is meant to send a message. It's another sign of how the Trump administration and its allies are relying on scare tactics to try to persuade people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily. State and federal officials have touted the plans on social media and conservative airwaves, sharing a meme of a compound ringed with barbed wire and 'guarded' by alligators wearing hats labeled 'ICE' for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Republican Party of Florida has taken to fundraising off the detention center, selling branded T-shirts and beer koozies emblazoned with the facility's name. _____ Anderson reported from St. Petersburg, Florida.
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center is set to receive its first group of immigrants
OCHOPEE, Fla. (AP) — The first group of immigrants were scheduled to arrive Wednesday night at a new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that officials have dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' the state's attorney general said. 'Alligator Alcatraz will be checking in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens tonight,' Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said on the X social media platform. 'Next stop: back to where they came from.' The facility, at an airport used for training, will have a capacity of about 3,000 detainees when fully operational, according to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said. The center was built in eight days over 10 miles (16 kilometers) of Everglades. It features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire and 400 security personnel. Environmental groups and Native American tribes have protested against the center, contending it is a threat to the fragile Everglades system, would be cruel to detainees because of heat and mosquitoes, and is on land the tribes consider sacred. DeSantis and other state officials say locating the facility in the rugged and remote Florida Everglades is meant as a deterrent, and naming it after the notorious federal prison of Alcatraz, an island fortress known for its brutal conditions, is meant to send a message. It's another sign of how the Trump administration and its allies are relying on scare tactics to try to persuade people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily. State and federal officials have touted the plans on social media and conservative airwaves, sharing a meme of a compound ringed with barbed wire and 'guarded' by alligators wearing hats labeled 'ICE' for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Republican Party of Florida has taken to fundraising off the detention center, selling branded T-shirts and beer koozies emblazoned with the facility's name. _____ Anderson reported from St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
California overhauls landmark environmental protection rules
California is overhauling its landmark environmental protection rules, a change state leaders say is essential to address the state's housing shortage and homelessness crisis. California's governor, Gavin Newsom, had threatened to reject the state budget passed last Friday unless lawmakers overhauled the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, a 1970s law that requires strict examination of any new development for its impact on the environment. The governor and housing advocates say that CEQA, while well-intentioned at the time, put up bureaucratic roadblocks that have made it increasingly difficult to build housing in the most populous state in the US. Lawmakers passed the transformative measure despite opposition from environmental groups. Newsom called it a step toward solving the state's housing affordability problem. 'This was too urgent, too important, to allow the process to unfold as it has for the last generation,' he told reporters at a news conference after signing the bill. Earlier this year, Newsom waived some CEQA rules for victims of wildfires in southern California, creating an opening for the state to re-examine the law that critics say hampers development and drives up building costs. The state budget passed last week pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark health care expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status, to close a $12bn deficit.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Gov. Newsom signs housing bill overhauling California's landmark environmental law
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed into law a bill that will remake California's landmark environmental protection rules, an overhaul that he says is essential to address the state's housing shortage and resulting homelessness crisis. Newsom had threatened to reject the state budget passed last Friday unless lawmakers overhauled the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, a 1970s law that requires strict examination of any new development for its impact on the environment. The governor and housing advocates maintain that CEQA, while well-intentioned at the time, put up bureaucratic roadblocks that have made it increasingly difficult to build housing in the most populous state in the country. Lawmakers passed the transformative measure despite opposition from environmental groups. Newsom called it a step toward solving the state's housing affordability problem. 'This was too urgent, too important, to allow the process to unfold as it has for the last generation,' he told reporters at a news conference after signing the bill. Earlier this year, Newsom waived some CEQA rules for victims of wildfires in Southern California, creating an opening for the state to reexamine the law that critics say hampers development and drives up building costs. The state budget passed last week pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark health care expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status, to close a $12 billion deficit.
