A coalition of Senate and House Democrats is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about the controversial immigration detention facility in Florida’s Everglades, known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
In a letter sent Tuesday to DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and FEMA, lawmakers raised concerns that the Trump administration’s reliance on a “state-run immigration detention model” could violate federal law and reduce government accountability. The letter, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), was signed by eight senators and 57 representatives.
The Florida facility, hastily built in June on a disused airstrip, currently houses about 3,000 migrants awaiting deportation. President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem toured the site in July, with Trump quipping that the Everglades’ alligators act as free “bodyguards.”
Democrats argue the new model allows states to operate “independent, unaccountable detention systems” alongside federal ones, citing similar facilities in Indiana (“Speedway Slammer”), Nebraska (“Cornhusker Clink”), and another Florida site dubbed “Deportation Depot.”
Lawmakers asked DHS to explain the legal authority for Florida to run the facility, confirm that detainee treatment complies with federal standards, and outline the criteria for federal reimbursement. They also demanded details about detainees’ legal access and the project’s environmental impact—issues at the center of two ongoing lawsuits. A federal judge has temporarily halted further construction over environmental concerns, while a separate case on legal access was partly resolved after DHS opened a nearby immigration court.
Human rights advocates, environmental groups, and Tribal nations have all criticised the project. “Brushing aside these concerns, DHS has greenlit a detention facility that may violate human rights, endanger public health, and break federal law,” the lawmakers wrote.
DHS has not responded publicly to the latest letter, though Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has previously insisted the site meets federal detention standards.
