US EditionEmails show DeSantis administration blindsided county officials with plans for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, JUL 17 – The facility, built in days using emergency powers, can hold up to 4,000 migrants and has faced lawsuits and criticism over lack of local input and environmental concerns.
- 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.
131 Articles
131 Articles
Hundreds gather at Camp Blanding to protest against plans for another immigration detention center
Last month, DeSantis said he's considering standing up a facility at a Florida National Guard training about 30 miles southwest of Jacksonville in northeast Florida.
DeSantis promotes Everglades restoration while defending using it for immigrant detention center • Florida Phoenix
President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis met on Tuesday, July 1, at the state's new deportation facility in the middle of the Everglades. (Via governor's X feed)Gov. Ron DeSantis this week has been promoting his commitment to Everglades restoration amid the backlash and legal challenges to his construction of an immigrant detention center on an airstrip in the wetland ecosystem. The governor signed a new agreement with the federal government…
Montana Standard
Emails show DeSantis administration blindsided county officials with 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration left local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an airstrip in the Everglades, according to emails obtained by AP.
'Alligator Alcatraz' Funded by Taxpayer Money Intended for Florida's Hurricane Response, Disaster Preparedness: Report
Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded $20 million in no-bid contracts, including nearly $500,000 for an emergency radio system that was originally designated for disaster preparedness during the active hurricane season.
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