TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are preparing to tour the state’s new migrant detention and deportation facility this weekend, a site that has been the focus of growing controversy and is now the target of a lawsuit, congressional scrutiny, and allegations of human rights violations.
Now formally named “Alligator Alcatraz” due to its remote location deep in the Everglades, the facility has drawn fierce criticism from immigration attorneys and Democrats, who say detainees are being subjected to inhumane conditions. State and federal officials have dismissed those reports as false.
“He says that the mosquito problem is terrible, that he's filled with, you know, mosquito bites,” said immigration attorney Gina Fraga, relaying her client’s experience. “I don't know how I can visit with him—call him, you know? So it is very frustrating right now. And just, you know, the lack of concern for a human life.”
WATCH: Inside 'Alligator Alcatraz': Lawmakers will tour Florida migrant facility amid controversy
As public pressure grows, Florida officials have now offered a limited tour of the facility to lawmakers this Saturday — but not to the media or their staff. Lawmakers must RSVP by Friday to attend.
The lack of transparency had previously sparked sharp criticism. “I’ll show you what political theater is. Political theater is what we're seeing right now,” said Sen. Shevrin Jones (D–Miami Gardens), who was among a group of legislators previously denied access to the facility last week due to what officials called “safety concerns.”
Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said she intends to go on the tour, but questioned the motives behind it. Her office is pushing for permission to record interviews, take photos, and capture video during the visit.
“Ideal world, this facility does not exist,” she said on Thursday. “It makes no sense beyond a political spectacle. I mean, it is isolated and remote. There's no cell service when you go down there. Lawyers have not been able to access their clients.”
Along with a coalition of other Democratic lawmakers, she is part of a new lawsuit before the Florida Supreme Court. The group argues that the state’s previous denial of access to “Alligator Alcatraz” violated state lawmakers’ constitutional right to conduct unannounced inspections.
“This is not only about transparency, it’s about whether the Governor can unilaterally block oversight from a co-equal branch of government,” the group said in a joint statement. “We filed this lawsuit because when lawmakers are denied the legal right to conduct unannounced inspections, it’s not just a violation of the law and our state’s constitution, it puts lives at risk.”
Criticism isn’t limited to state legislators. Democrats in Congress have also condemned the tour as inadequate. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25) vowed to return, unannounced, at a later date.
“The most important thing is that we be able to get a view that is not scrubbed,” she said. “We’ll be back for an unannounced visit, and we’re going to make sure that we have the ability to get in there to really see the conditions.”
Republicans, meanwhile, have defended the access as a legitimate step toward transparency. They point out that the press and even the president were invited to the grand opening on July 1st.
“Very soon this facility will have some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet,” said former President Donald Trump at the GOP’s ribbon-cutting this month. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swamp land, and really the only way out is deportation.”
State officials continue to dispute the negative coverage, calling it misinformation and “completely false.”
“The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order,” said Stephanie Hartman, Deputy Communications Director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
President Donald Trump’s rapid response team has also defended conditions at the site. In a statement posted online Thursday, officials said, “ICE has higher standards than most prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens. All detainees are given proper meals, medical treatment, and communication with lawyers and families.”
At this point, it’s unclear how many lawmakers will attend the tour. What is clear, however, is that for many critics, Saturday’s visit won’t be the end, but just the beginning of their efforts to get inside “Alligator Alcatraz.”
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