by Victoria Machado
In only three months, Alligator Alcatraz, the migrant detention center in the Everglades, has turned into a roller coaster of fraught debate.
In June, with no input from local government, Gov. Ron DeSantis assigned hundreds of millions of Florida taxpayer dollars to fund and quickly open the doors of the South Florida Detention Facility, commonly known as Alligator Alcatraz, at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport site. This is the same location that was saved from development in the 1960s, thanks in large part to conservation efforts.
This space has entered the public sphere again, as environmentalists pushed hard against the detention center. DeSantis’s promise of ‘zero’ impact held zero weight.
Outraged by the lack of oversight and missing environmental impact analysis, people came out in protest, including Miccosukee tribal elders, who coordinated several prayers for the land. On June 27, less than a week before the detention center opened, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit. A month later the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians joined the legal battle.
In early July, as the detention center filled its cages (enclosures that held upwards of 32 men with three toilets), reports of unsanitary conditions arose. These included worms in the food, fecal waste on the floors, medical neglect, and a lack of food and water.
Miccosukee and interfaith leaders continued praying outside the gates for the facility to shut down. Prayers were answered on Aug. 7, when Judge Kathleen Williams granted a 14-day order that prohibited new construction.
Two weeks later, after expert testimony from a range of scientists, Judge Williams ruled that the detention center must close its doors. The state quickly responded and sought to overturn the order, citing that federal environmental laws only apply to federal agencies, not the state of Florida.
It has been difficult navigating exactly who is in charge as money moves from one place to another and the chain of command appears to be jumbled.
PBS reported that taxpayers may lose $218 million dollars on this project, the same project that was supposed to be reimbursed by FEMA funds.
As the story continues to unfold, one thing is certain, Alligator Alcatraz set into motion the plans for several other detention centers including Speedway Slammer in Indiana, Cornhusker Clink in Nebraska, and Deportation Depot in our own backyard of Baker County. With the way things are moving, there is no telling when or where this roller coaster will end.
For more info, check out these AP reports:
• tinyurl.com/Iguana2231
• tinyurl.com/Iguana2232