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2h ago

Tours Highlight Stark Divide Over 'Alligator Alcatraz' Conditions as DHS Eyes Replication

State tours have exposed divergent views on the Everglades detention camp, spurring DHS plans to replicate its design in five other states.

Beds are seen inside a migrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, as US President Donald Trump tours the facility in Ochopee, Florida on July 1, 2025. INSET: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL) (L), and Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) during a press conference after visiting "Alligator Alcatraz" at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on July 12, 2025, in Ochopee, Florida.
President President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem tour the migrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz in Ochopee, Florida, on July 1.
Work progresses on a new migrant detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility in Ochopee, Florida, on July 4.

Overview

  • On July 12, state-arranged tours of the 3,000-bed Everglades camp divided lawmakers into multiple groups to inspect the fast-built facility.
  • Democrats reported overcrowded, bug-infested cages with limited sanitation and smaller meals for detainees, contrasting Republicans’ accounts of a well-run site.
  • After being blocked from entering on July 3, five Democratic legislators sued over alleged oversight obstruction and were granted only a supervised walk-through.
  • Friends of the Everglades and Native American tribes press lawsuits challenging the camp’s siting on wetlands and sacred land, relying on expedited emergency approvals.
  • DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has praised the site’s design and is in talks with governors from five states to build similar detention centers.