US EditionEmails show DeSantis administration blindsided county officials with plans for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, JUL 17 – The facility was built in 10 days using emergency powers to bypass laws, aiming to deter migrants by locating it in a remote Everglades area, officials said.
- On July 1, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis opened 'Alligator Alcatraz' at an isolated Everglades site, joined by key officials, as emails reveal rapid, secret construction.
- Under the 2023 executive order, the administration used emergency powers to suspend laws and seize county-owned land, allowing rapid construction of the immigration detention center.
- The 100-plus emails obtained via public records request reveal makeshift tents and trailers erected within days, showing the speed and secrecy of construction that blindsided Collier County officials.
- Commissioner Rick LoCastro said, and the Associated Press reported, he first learned of the proposal from a June 21 email, highlighting local officials' surprise.
- The 'Alligator Alcatraz' naming strategy served as a deterrent, while the Trump administration used scare tactics to pressure undocumented migrants, Associated Press reports.
86 Articles
86 Articles
DeSantis and Gang Are Making Political Capital and Merch Sales From Alligator Alcatraz
Republished with permission from Florida Phoenix, by Diane Roberts Do you think concentration camps are cool? Does your heart fill with mean-spirited joy at the thought of human beings stuffed into tents and FEMA trailers parked on a disused airstrip in the heart of the Everglades in the middle of a Florida summer? Do you get off on the idea of alligators and snakes killing people and admire bully capitalism hawking camo beverage coolers, sticke…
Gov. DeSantis to Newsmax: Migrants Can Choose to Self-Deport From Alligator Alcatraz
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended the state’s controversial migrant detention site in the Everglades on Newsmax Thursday, saying illegal immigrants housed at the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” are offered the chance to return to their home countries at no personal cost. DeSantis responded to mounting criticism of the state’s migrant detention facility located deep in the Everglades, saying detainees have the option to avoid confinement en…
Gov. DeSantis blindsided Florida county officials with 'Alligator Alcatraz' plans, emails show
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration left many local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, emails obtained by The Associated Press show, while relying on an executive order to seize the land, hire contractors and bypass laws and regulations.
Emails show DeSantis administration blindsided county officials with plans for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration left many local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, emails obtained by The Associated Press show, while relying on an executive order to seize the land, hire contractors and bypass laws and regulations.
'Blindsided': DeSantis accused of 'abusing power' to build 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) reportedly left county officials in the dark when he decided to create the 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention facility in Southwest Florida, according to The Associated Press.President Donald Trump toured the makeshift detention center comprised largely of FEMA tents and trailers earlier this month, claiming it would "house some of the menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.”AP obtained…
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