COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – As the first wave of migrant detainees arrived overnight Thursday at Florida’s controversial new detention facility in the Everglades — now branded with official signage as “Alligator Alcatraz” — a group of Democratic state lawmakers says they were denied entry when they attempted to conduct a legally authorized inspection.
Local 10’s Glenna Milberg reported live from the site near Ochopee, where fencing has been expanded and new gates are being erected to restrict access to the front of the property off Alligator Alley.
“It’s no secret that Democrats in the state are opposed to all of this,” Milberg said. “But those lawmakers do have a statutory right to show up unannounced and inspect any state-run facility like this one. The fact that they were denied that only amped up the tensions.”
State Senator Shevrin Jones, Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, and State Representatives Dr. Anna V. Eskamani, Angie Nixon, and Michele Rayner were among those attempting the visit Thursday afternoon.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, the statute says that we are able to have access to any facility,” said Nixon during the confrontation.
But when lawmakers attempted to gain entry, they were told to “schedule a time next week.”
“My colleagues on both sides of the aisle want us to be here to ensure that this state-run facility is being operated in a way that is humane,” said Jones.
The lawmakers’ failed visit came just hours after the first group of detainees arrived at the facility, a moment captured in a photo posted to state-run social media channels overnight.
“It’s so essential,” said Eskamani. “When you have hundreds of millions of public dollars being spent on a political stunt, that we have the ability to see with our own eyes what is happening.”
Despite state promises that legal services would be available, an immigration attorney who arrived separately on Thursday was also turned away.
“They kindly told me that there had been none of that set up yet for visitation hours for attorneys,” said immigration attorney Sophia Carballosa. “Nowhere I could contact.”
As previously reported by Local 10 News, Florida officials are finalizing work on the site, located in the Big Cypress region of the Everglades — just steps from live alligator habitats. Heavy machinery and generators continue to be trucked in to support the sprawling tent-based complex.
Noon report:
Environmental advocates remain alarmed.
“Eight million Floridians rely on the Everglades for their drinking water,” said Jessica Namath with Floridians for Public Lands. “What happens when there’s debris flowing around Big Cypress and we don’t have the funds to clean it up? What materials are they using for these tents? Plastic, vinyls?”
Those concerns escalated after heavy rain earlier this week caused leaks in some of the tents and trailers at the site. The Florida Division of Emergency Management downplayed the incident as minimal and said repairs were made overnight.
Meanwhile, the state has not clarified how many migrants will be detained at the site or how long the temporary facility will remain open.
Media were granted limited access during a Tuesday visit from President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Homeland Security officials.
“A lot of cops and bodyguards in the form of alligators,” Trump joked while touring the perimeter.
Court filings obtained Thursday added further intrigue.
In one motion, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security referred to the site as a “total state operation,” noting that Florida had funded construction and now solely manages the compound.
The words Alligator Alcatraz are now prominently displayed on official signage and, controversially, appear to be part of a growing state-led branding effort.
Jones is scheduled to discuss the failed visit and the future of the detention center during this week’s episode of This Week in South Florida, airing Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on Local 10.
Local 10 viewers can also read the letter that the Everglades Coalition sent to DeSantis stating that the migrant detention center will “threaten decades of Everglades restoration work”:
