Post by : Jyoti Gupta

Photo:AP

Florida is building a new immigration detention center in a very remote part of the Everglades. The area is full of swamps, mosquitoes, alligators, and snakes. Some people are calling it “Alligator Alcatraz” because it’s so hard to escape from.

The facility will have tents, trailers, and temporary buildings, and is being built quickly to hold 5,000 immigrants by early July. Florida officials say it’s needed because there are record numbers of people being detained for immigration reasons — over 56,000 in June.

The location is about 45 miles west of Miami, on land surrounded by national parks. This place was almost used for a huge airport 50 years ago but was saved by environmentalists. Now, those same kinds of people, along with human rights groups, are worried again. They say the land is very fragile and shouldn’t be used for something like this.

Florida’s Attorney General, who helped fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022, says the rough environment helps with security. He says the swamps and animals make it hard to escape, so they don’t need big fences.

The U.S. government wants to increase the number of beds for detaining immigrants from 41,000 to 100,000. A recent bill in Congress would spend $45 billion over four years to help make that happen.

Some people are very angry about the new detention center. A Florida lawmaker says using alligators for security is cruel. Others worry about the heat, mosquitoes, and how hard it will be for families and lawyers to reach people held there.The U.S. government says FEMA is helping fund the project. It will cost about $450 million per year.

Florida police working with immigration officials can hold people under special rules called the 287(g) program. The state is using emergency powers to build the site fast, without needing normal approvals.

Local Native American leaders and Miami-Dade’s mayor are also against the plan, saying the land is sacred and should be protected.