Overview
- A class-action suit filed by the ACLU and Americans for Immigrant Justice alleges detainees are denied confidential attorney access and basic due-process rights at the remote Everglades facility.
- Environmental groups have sued under the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act, arguing the camp’s breakneck construction bypassed required reviews and threatens protected wetlands.
- A Talking Points Memo analysis found nearly $20 million in disaster-preparedness contracts were diverted to build and staff the camp, with more than a dozen procurement records later removed from the state’s public database.
- Emails obtained by the Associated Press reveal Collier County officials remained unaware of the detention center plans even as state crews seized the Dade-Collier airstrip and began site work under an emergency executive order.
- Officials confirmed a 15-year-old undocumented minor was held at the facility despite state and federal assurances it housed only adults.