Feds and Florida discuss shutting down Alligator Alcatraz
News and commentary for Floridians and other discerning Americans
By J.C. Bruce
Are Alligator Alcatraz’s days numbered?
Could be.
Several news services, citing unnamed sources, say “preliminary” conversations are underway between Florida and federal officials regarding the future of the controversial concentration camp in the Everglades.
As has been previously reported here and elsewhere, the immigrant detention center, opened with outrageous ballyhoo last July by Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been mired in concerns about the treatment of prisoners and whether the hastily erected facility skirted laws designed to protect the fragile Everglades environment.
And then there’s the money.
The Trump administration promised to reimburse the state for the costs of opening the prison facility to the tune of more than $600 million. That bill has not been paid.
And the ongoing costs of keeping the swampland prison camp operating are dinging taxpayers at the rate of about a million dollars a day.
There are far more unanswered questions than answers at this point:
If the facility is closed, will it be torn down and the site restored to its original condition?
If not, why not?
And what would that cost, and who would pay for it?
Where will the prisoners go?
And if there is room for them elsewhere, why was this atrocity in the middle of a swamp built in the first place?
And perhaps the most important political question of all:
After all the Sturm and Drang, will it turn out that this was just a gigantically expensive public relations stunt that has blown up in DeSantis’ face?
Some highlights from various news services:
The shutdown talks are preliminary. But Department of Homeland Security officials believe it is too expensive to keep operating Alligator Alcatraz.
Also, Homeland Security officials have concluded the center ineffective.
DeSantis, however, has repeatedly called the Everglades detention center a success (of course).
But scuttling Alligator Alcatraz would be celebrated by immigration lawyers, activists and many detainees and their families in light of what critics describe as unsanitary and inhumane conditions.
State officials unsurprisingly, have consistently dismissed such descriptions as false.
Related stories:
At Alligator Alcatraz, millions for high tech but zilch for inmates’ phone calls
Federal and state officials consider closing Alligator Alcatraz
Spiteful Trump vetoes Florida tribe’s flood protection over Alligator Alcatraz opposition
Alligator Alcatraz report cites ‘torture and enforced disappearances in the Sunshine State’
J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press. He is an award-winning journalist and author who holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and Florida.
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J.C. Bruce
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Close it now, release those jailed illegally, clean up the mess - return the Everglades to prior condition, charge construction and clean up to personal accounts belonging to DeSantis.
DeSantis isn't even working for Trump yet, and he (the taxpayer) has been screwed over, Trump style. I hope they close this inhumane eyesore asap, and if Florida isn't reimbursed, then DeSantis should be responsible for the full cost.