Florida lawmakers worried about “humanitarian concerns” are attempting to access“Alligator Alcatraz”Thursday to inspect the grounds of the new detention center, just hours after the arrival of its first group of detainees.
“What’s happening here is un-American,” Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones and four other Democratic state lawmakers said in a joint news release. “What we’re witnessing isn’t about security or solving problems—it’s about inhumane political theater that endangers real people.”
The lawmakers spoke to reporters outside the facility Thursday afternoon but it’s unclear whether they were allowed inside.
Detainees arrived at the facility in the middle of the Florida Everglades, theFlorida Division of Emergency Managementsaid Thursday, following reports of flooding earlier this week. The lawmakers noted there have been reports of extreme heat, structural issues, environmental threats, and human rights violations that “demand immediate oversight.”
President DonaldTrump toured the facility Tuesdayand shortly after, summer storms amid the region’s hurricane season brought flooding to it, adding to a list of concerns about the facility’s readiness to house migrants.
Wires were seen submerged in pooling water across the floor and high winds made the facility’s floor and walls tremble, reporter video from CNN affiliateSpectrum News 13showed. A combination of weather observations and estimates from radar indicate that anywhere from around 0.40 to 1.5 inches of rain fell at the facility in less than two hours on Tuesday, according to CNN Weather.
Later that night, “vendors went back and tightened any seams at the base of the structures that allowed water intrusion during the heavy storm, which was minimal,” Stephanie Hartman, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Emergency Management, told CNN.
But more rainfall could be on the horizon amid the region’s hurricane season and the chance for storms in the forecast every day in the next week, according to CNN Weather.
It’s unclear how many detainees are currently being housed at the compound as of Thursday, but it has the capacity to hold 3,000 people, with room for more, Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said in a roundtable Tuesday alongside Trump.
Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said authorities will “expand facilities and bed space in just days.”
Nestled in the middle of Florida’s humid, subtropical wetland ecosystem, “Alligator Alcatraz” was transformed from a training and transition airport to a temporary tent city for migrants.
The expected cost to run the detention center for one year is $450 million, a Department of Homeland Security official told CNN, adding that Florida will front the costs of the facility and then “submit reimbursement requests” through FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the facility is necessary to alleviate burdens on the state’s law enforcement agencies and jails, and touted it for being designed to be “completely self-contained” – which has prompted local immigration rights advocates to accuse the DeSantis administration of creating a facility“engineered to enact suffering.”
“Clearly from a security perspective, if someone escapes, there’s a lot of alligators you’re going to have to contend (with),” DeSantis said last week. “No one is going anywhere once you do that. It’s as safe and secure as you can be.”
Migrants will be housed in repurposed FEMA trailers and “soft-sided temporary facilities,” a Department of Homeland Security official told CNN.
The same tents are often used to house those displaced by natural disasters, like hurricanes, DeSantis’ office said. They likely will provide the only shelter from mother nature as summer in South Florida proves to be the region’s wettest season, in part due to the tropical activity of hurricane season and daily thunderstorms.
State officials said they are developing evacuation plans for the facility in the event of severe weather.