DeSantis says Alligator Alcatraz fulfills need in immigration enforcement
Governor Ron DeSantis held a news conference at the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in the Everglades on Friday morning where he touted its success.
The governor was joined by Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Department of Financial Services Chief Officer Blaise Ingoglia and the state's Board of Immigration Enforcement Executive Director Larry Keefe.
DeSantis said since the beginning of 2024, they've been pushing for tougher immigration enforcement. From new laws to 287(g) agreements with local law enforcement, he said the state has moved forward.
But there was one thing lacking.
"The one thing we were running into was that DHS (Department of Homeland Security) did not have the capacity to be able to hold and process these illegal aliens prior to deportation. Our sheriffs were using some of their local facilities. We would do what we could at the state level, but there was a huge need for additional capacity," DeSantis said.
The governor said the site they built at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport fulfilled that need.
"We were able to, under Kevin Guthrie's leadership, within record time, create a facility that could support intake, processing and eventually deporting these illegal aliens. And that's important to deport from Florida and obviously from the United States as well, " DeSantis said.
The governor said he knows the Trump administration has called on other states to follow suit and expand on their capacity.
"This was never intended to be something where people are just held and we just kind of twiddle our thumbs. The whole purpose is to make this be a place that can facilitate increased frequency and numbers of deportations of illegal aliens. That is the goal and one of the reasons why this was a sensible spot is that you have a runway that is right here, you don't have to drive them to an airport, you go a couple of thousand feet and they can be on a plane," he said.
Alligator Alcatraz deportation flights underway
The governor said deportation flights from facility are already underway.
"I am pleased to report those flights out of Alligator Alcatraz by DHS have begun," he said.
The first flights have transferred about 100 detainees from the immigration detention center to other countries, DeSantis said.
"You're going to see the numbers go up dramatically," he said.
Two or three flights have already departed, but officials didn't say where those flights went.
Emergency chief defends conditions inside the site
The FDEM was the engine behind Alligator Alcatraz, using the state's emergency management tools and funding to build, staff and operate the detention facility.
Guthrie said Florida knows how to respond to a crisis and that same speed and disciple has been applied to Alligator Alcatraz.
"This facility was built and operational incredibly fast and has now grown to have a capacity of 2,000 detainees. Our team continues to work to increase its capacity. The facility will eventually hold 4,000 detainees," he said.
Guthrie defended the conditions in the encampment that critics have called inhumane.
"Our on-site services include hot meal service three times a day, not gray turkey by the way, full medical care including 24/7 clinic and pharmacy, indoor and outdoor recreational space, laundry, legal and clergy services and air conditioned detention housing units. These either meet or exceed the higher standard, whatever that is. Whether it's Florida standard or national standard, we meet or exceed the higher standard," he said.
Guthrie said the facility is secured by 28,000 feet of barbed wire and fencing, nearly 300 security cameras, a trained force of over 400 security personnel, 200 National Guard members and 39 miles of natural buffer.
The state has estimated it will cost roughly $450 million a year to operate the detention facility.
Deadline for detention center answers
The visit comes on the day of a deadline, set by the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for information on the detention center.
In a letter to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote, "We will not be answering your questions."
Durbin was demanding answers after his office released a report about overcrowding and inhumane conditions at Miami's federal detention center and the Krome Detention Center.
Calls for Alligator Alcatraz to be shut down
Last Tuesday, several Florida nonprofits, medical professionals, public health experts and families of detainees held at Alligator Alcatraz called for the site to be shut down due to what they said are inhumane conditions.
Demonstrators raised concerns about detainees suffering in blistering heat with limited medical care.
"We name it a concentration camp built on stolen indigenous land," said activist Ruth Jean Noel.
Detainee Rafael Colado, who spoke by phone from inside the facility, compared it to a dog cage and said he sometimes goes days without a shower.
"There's no set schedule to get his medicine for high blood pressure and there's water coming into his tent," said Colado.
Alligator Alcatraz detainees report poor conditions inside detention center
Tents are used to house the detainees at the hastily constructed camp erected in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
Detainees have said the cages where they are forced to sleep are crowded and the food is sub-standard. Some have said they've gone days without showering or getting prescription medicine, and at times the air conditioners for the tents abruptly shut off in the sweltering heat. They've said their drinking water comes from toilet spigots and sometimes the toilets back up, spilling feces onto the ground.
Armen Henderson, executive director at Dade County Street Response, said the conditions are a blatant assault on human rights.
"By imprisoning innocent people in tents surrounded by fences and barbed wire, with no proper sanitation, it is nothing less than a concentration camp. This is a public health crisis unfolding in our own backyard," he said in a statement.
