OCHOPEE, Fla. (WSVN) — Local organizations in South Florida are urging leaders across Miami-Dade County to sue the state for detaining illegal immigrants in what they described as an inhumane facility, which has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The new facility, located on an unused airstrip deep in the Florida Everglades, is being used to house illegal immigrants, with further construction underway at the detention center. State officials said “Alligator Alley” can hold up to 5,000 detainees.
During a news conference on Friday, members from local organizations criticized the state for using the makeshift facility, which began operations after eight days of construction.
“I’m here to denounce what’s happening in the Everglades: a modern-day concentration camp built to disappear and destroy our communities,” said Oliver, from the Sanctuary of the South.
“These people do not have access to lawyers, and their loved ones are completely unable to visit them,” said Alexandra Orellana, from the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
Family members and attorneys of detainees being held at the facility have described conditions within to be unsanitary, including worms in the food, toilets that don’t flush, causing floors to be flooded with fecal matter, and air conditioners that randomly shut off in the tropical heat.
Miami-Dade Young Democrats urged local leaders, including Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, to sue the state.
“To stop this from being used for the inhumane torture and treatment of people in the Everglades, the destruction of the environment out there,” said Justin Mendoza Routt, president of the Miami-Dade Young Democrats.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials have adamantly disputed conditions described by detainees inside “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Members of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will also be able to enforce immigration laws after members received a federal certification to allow them to interrogate, detain and arrest anyone they suspect of believing to be in the state unlawfully.
Just before the Fourth of July weekend, a contingent of Democratic state lawmakers attempted to inspect the facility unannounced once the state began accepting detainees. The group was denied entry by security at the detention center.
At the time, officials cited “safety concerns and ongoing inmate operations” as to why lawmakers were denied entry.
Some of those state lawmakers have been invited to tour the facility on Saturday.
The scheduled visit, which has raised concerns from those lawmakers, is scheduled to happen from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said she believes that is not enough time.
“This visit is planned for an hour and a half. There’s no way we’re going to be able to thoroughly see everything we need to see to accomplish our goals that the detainees are being treated humanely,” she said.
On Thursday, five of the Democrats who were denied entry during the unplanned visit sued the governor, arguing that he overstepped his authority in blocking legislative oversight of the facility.
“The Florida Department of Emergency Management and the governor’s office broke the law,” said Florida State Sen. Shevrin Jones.
Wasserman Schultz said Saturday’s scheduled tour falls short of allowing lawmakers, who won’t be allowed to bring any staff or visitors, to assess if the conditions in the detention center is adequate to house any number of detainees safely.
“I assume that the state got word of [our unannounced visit] and decided to do what is essentially going to be a sanitized, preplanned visit,” said Wasserman Schultz.
The governor addressed the lawmakers’ upcoming visit during an interview with Fox News on Thursday.
“What we’re not going to do is provide them with a platform to virtue signal and have some politicized photo op, I mean, if they want to see, they’ll see there’s professional folks that are there running this,” said DeSantis.
Levine Cava has also requested a tour of the facility, since the detention center was built on county-owned land.
“Unfortunately, we are sweeping people up without need, so I have asked for ongoing monitoring, not just one time,” she said. “I want to have weekly reports. I want to be able to have a small group that could go with some frequency to actually visit and monitor. And we also asked for monitoring video cameras.”
According to Sanctuary of the South, a 15-year-old boy is among the people being held at “Alligator Alcatraz.”
7News has reached out to the state for more information.
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