Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz has not been open for two weeks, and complaints about inhumane conditions are already piling up.
Speaking to the press, migrant detainees and their families describe “horrible” conditions at the Florida detention center. The inmates at the camp in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve say they face days without showers, extreme temperatures, lack of water and maggots in their food.
Cuban reggaeton artist Leamsy La Figura was taken to the facility last week. He described life inside the facility in an interview with Telemundo 51.
“There is no water here to bathe,” Leamsy said. “They give you food only once a day, food that even has worms in it.” The musician, whose real name is Leamsy Izquierdo, said the detention center is plagued by mosquitoes “the size of elephants and that the lights in the facility are left on 24 hours a day.
A Colombian detainee described a lack of medical care and religious restrictions.
“I’m on the edge of losing my mind. I’ve gone three days without taking my medicine,” he said. “They took the Bible I had and they said here there is no right to religion.”
A woman whose Venezuelan husband is detained in Alligator Alcatraz questioned the center’s conditions while speaking to the Miami Herald.
“Why would we treat a human like that?” she said. “They come here for a better life. I don’t understand. We are supposed to be the greatest nation under God, but we forget that we’re under God.”
Florida officials told Herald that allegations of inhumane conditions are “untrue.”
“Bugs and environmental factors are minimized in the facility, restraints are only utilized during transport outside of the detention centers, and visitation arrangements can be made upon request,” said Stephanie Hartman, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Emergency Management. “All plumbing systems are working and operational.”
The Department of Homeland Security is also denying the claims.
“It’s SHAMEFUL that the fake news media continues to peddle the false narrative of criminal illegal aliens convicted of rape, homicide, and child sex crimes,” the department wrote in a post on X.
Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava sent letters to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday requesting greater transparency around the facility. In addition to video monitoring access, Levine Cava requested scheduled access to the facility and weekly reports on conditions.
Immigration attorneys say they’re encountering issues with the detention center, too. Attorneys have concerns about due process, clients’ access to judges, and whether detained migrants are in ICE custody or Florida custody. Katie Blankenship, an attorney and co-founder of Sanctuary of the South, told the Miami Herald that she can’t reach one of her clients at the center.
“We don’t know what entity to call. Who is in charge out there? I don’t think anybody actually knows who is in charge,” Blankenship said.
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