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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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New details have emerged on the detainees inside Florida's new immigrant detention center, nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz."
The Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times obtained a list of more than 700 people who have been detained or appear to be scheduled to be sent to the state-run immigration detention facility.
Why It Matters
The remote facility is expected to cost Florida about $450 million annually to operate. It comes as President Donald Trump's administration looks to conduct what it describes as the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.
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What To Know
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' administration has not released the names of immigrants being held in heavy-duty tents at an airstrip in the Everglades. People transferred to the temporary detention site are not listed in the government's online database that typically allows the public to track the location of immigrant detainees.
The Miami Herald reported that attorneys report having trouble finding clients who have been sent there, often discovering their whereabouts only when detainees manage to call family members.
The outlet said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Florida Division of Emergency Management did not dispute its accuracy.
Democratic lawmakers who toured the site described "cage-like enclosures" under extreme heat, inadequate sanitation and reports of detainees crying out for help, calling the overall environment "vile."
The projected cost is about $245 per bed per day, adding up to roughly $450 million in operating expenses for the first year. Florida officials say they plan to seek federal reimbursement from the DHS, which will use FEMA funds.
The idea for "Alligator Alcatraz" originated with DeSantis' administration, which used emergency powers to authorize construction of the site. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier unveiled the move on Fox News.
Legal experts told Newsweek that South Florida cannot handle a major increase in detention operations.
Raul Gastesi, partner at Gastesi, Lopez, Mestre & Cobiella and a Florida-based attorney said: "South Florida doesn't have the infrastructure to support large-scale detention expansion. Our jails are already overcrowded, we lack sufficient waste management capacity and we face strict zoning limits and serious environmental risks, particularly given that our region's drinking water is tied to the Everglades.
"Detaining people in the harsh climate of the Florida Everglades with extreme heat, relentless mosquitoes and inadequate living conditions is not something we should be proud of as Americans."
What People Are Saying
Raul Gastesi, partner at Gastesi, Lopez, Mestre & Cobiella and a Florida-based attorney, told Newsweek: "I believe the facility's location and name are cruel and demeaning. As a country, I believe in American exceptionalism. I fully support the need to control our borders and believe in a strict immigration policy. But this crisis was created by the previous administration, and now, these individuals are already here."
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