In response to multiple legal challenges, Alligator Alcatraz is scheduled to be closed within 60 days. Federal Judge Kathleen Williams ordered the closing in response to legal action brought by a coalition of environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe due to multiple violations of environmental regulations related to the site, which was put up in haste outside of the applicable government procedures. DeSantis is appealing the ruling.
The facility was created and promoted as a cruel and intimidating approach to immigrant detention, and MAGA faithful celebrated the concept with photo ops and t-shirts. Named after the notorious island prison off the coast of San Francisco, the harsh environment conditions affected the conditions of the facility which was intended to reach a capacity of 3,000 detainees. Multiple complaints and lawsuits were filed due to the harsh and unsanitary conditions of the facility including inadequate medical care, food, and legal access.
Alligator Alcatraz - South Florida Detention Center
- Opened on July 1 under "immigration state of emergency"
- without standard environmental impact reviews or consultation with local authorities
- Opened with Emergency Management contracts lacking the usual bidding and procurement oversight
- Operational support by IRG Global Emergency Management
- Described as "Alligator Alcatraz" by Florida Attorney General
- Land owned by Miami-Dade County about 50 miles west of Miami
- Within the Big Cypress National Preserve, considered part of Native American ancestral homelands
- Projected to detain up to 3,000 individuals
- Over 20 acres of new asphalt added to existing site with portable tents and trailers
- Lacking permanent sanitation support system.
Why do Trump, Noem, Desantis and MAGA leaders celebrate the concept of an intentionally cruel mega detention center in a mosquito infested swamp in a tropical climate? Because they know much of MAGA world gleefully support the concept. Photo-ops are posted on social media. T-shirts are marketed. Is this facility reserved for the most dangerous violent convicted criminals? NO!!! ...The majority of detainees have no criminal record and no criminal convictions.
Whereas electronic monitoring would be more a more humanitarian and cost effective method to keep track of non-criminal undocumented immigrants that are facing hearings or deportation, the Trump administration, with approval of Congress, has secured billions in federal budget funding to place these individuals in prison, far from their families, jobs, and legal support system. This intentionally harsh strategy is designed to punish individuals, motivate self-deportation, and discourage further immigration.
Public support for the Trump immigration strategy is divided and shifting over time, as the impact of illegal police-state tactics and the negative drain on the work force in many states begins to take effect.
The question arises: what will be the long term impact of the sudden abandonment of legal rights that have historically provided a protective barrier for the public against unlawful interrogation, search and seizure, and which is currently taking place across the country by masked agents in plain clothes, unmarked vehicles, and inadequate identification of their official law enforcement status? Advocacy groups have been organizing and mobilizing since the beginning of the Trump administration, and both organized and spontaneous protests against ICE activity is growing with each passing month.
What happened to Immigration Reform?
Never forget that Trump opposed a bi-partisan immigration reform bill proposed in the Senate in early 2024, and by his influence in Congress, the effort was defeated. Trump rejected bi-partisan problem solving and chose instead to keep immigration at the forefront of his presidential campaign. We are now living with and paying for the application of Trump's anti-immigrant agenda.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_Alcatraz
Alligator Alcatraz to be empty within a few days: NPR (August 28)
Prison to be closed in compliance with federal court order: The Guardian
Ron Desantis wasted $250 million: Newsweek (August 28)
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