Lawmakers blast possibility children could be sent to Alligator Alcatraz

Siena Duncan, Miami Herald on Jul 3, 2025

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MIAMI — Florida Democratic lawmakers lashed out Thursday at the possibility that immigrant children could be housed at Alligator Alcatraz, the newly opened state detention center in the middle of the Everglades.

Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who represents portions of Orange County, called the idea of detainining minors at the site “un-American” on social media. Rep. Angie Nixon said it proved that President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who spurred the site’s construction into motion, were “liars.” Smith and Nixon were among five Democratic state lawmakers who tried to visit the site Thursday afternoon but were turned away.

Florida officials did not respond when asked if the state-run facility is planning to house children, but the possibility of it roiled several Democrats.

“What we’re witnessing isn’t about security or solving problems — it’s about inhumane political theater that endangers real people,” wrote the five Democratic officials attempting to visit the site in a joint statement: Sen. Shevrin Jones, Rep. Anna Eskamani, Rep. Michele Rayne, Smith and Nixon.

The Miami Herald has obtained a draft operational plan for the detention facility for migrants that suggests there is a possibility that minors could be held at the site.

The 35-page report does not say that minors will be definitively housed there, but it does say “minors shall be separated from unrelated adults at all times during transport and seated in an area near officers and under close supervision” when transported “by land.”

The records also say “snacks and water shall be given to minors, pregnant females, and as necessary for detainees with medical conditions,” while being transported.

Earlier in the day, when the lawmakers announced they planned to visit the site, it drew what appeared to be a mocking response from the state’s attorney general.

“I hope they have an airboat,” Attorney General James Uthmeier posted on social media in response to their trip. The site has also faced flooding concerns after rainwater began to seep across portions of the floor Tuesday, the day of its grand opening.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management, which built the faciliity, did not respond when asked by the Herald if the state is planning to house children in Alligator Alcatraz.

Instead, the state agency issued a statement that said “the timing of detainee arrivals at the detention facility will be determined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

“Florida stands ready to support federal operations as needed, and the state has ensured the facility is prepared to receive individuals once DHS and ICE finalize transportation logistics and scheduling,” a spokesperson for the state agency wrote in an email Wednesday.

The entire Florida Democratic delegation in Congress signed a letter on Wednesday to DeSantis asking him to shut down Alligator Alcatraz. The letter was driven primarily by concerns about its possible environmental impacts on the land, which borders Miccosukee and Seminole tribal areas. It asked for a full environmental review process for any future plans for the detention center.

“Florida’s River of Grass is no place for a prison,” the letter said.

The governor’s office has not publicly responded to the letter. A similar one was sent to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, signed by 24 House Democrats from Florida and elsewhere. It also has received no public response.