Florida Democratic lawmakers are criticizing what they call a “sanitized” tour of the Alligator Alcatraz immigrant detention facility, planned by the DeSantis administration for this weekend, accusing the state of trying to preempt their oversight efforts.
Lawmakers invited to 90-minute tour Saturday
The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) has invited members of Congress and state legislators to a scheduled, 90-minute tour of the controversial detention site on Saturday afternoon.
U.S. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Darren Soto (FL-9), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), and Jared Moskowitz (FL-23) issued a joint statement Wednesday in response to the invitation.
“As Members of Congress, we were planning an unannounced oversight visit of this Everglades detention facility. Today, we received notice from the state announcing its own planned ‘tour’ at the same time, on the same day,” the lawmakers said. “We do not need permission to conduct lawful oversight.”
Levine Cava gets answer: No access to Alligator Alcatraz
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava received a blunt response to her request for access to Alligator Alcatraz: No.
Florida Attorney General’s Chief of Staff and Communications Director, James Uthmeier, responded to the mayor’s request on the social media platform X with a two-part post:
“1. NO.
2. NO, NO, and NO. Any other questions?”
The response came after Levine Cava sent a letter to the attorney general asking for scheduled site visits, weekly reports, and remote video monitoring access to the Everglades facility.
In a statement to CBS News Miami, Levine Cava’s office said the mayor had a brief conversation with the attorney general on Wednesday and plans to follow up on her requests directly with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which operates the facility.
Lawmakers call planned visit “Not real oversight”
The Democrats allege the state-led tour is designed to avoid scrutiny over conditions at the facility, which has sparked criticism over alleged mistreatment of detainees and environmental risks.
“This sanitized tour is not real oversight,” the statement continued. “We expect ICE and FDEM will try to paper over the inhumane treatment of detained people with a limited, scrubbed visit and rehearsed answers.”
The lawmakers said they still plan to attend Saturday’s tour but intend to return for an unannounced inspection.
“Given reports of horrific living conditions, rampant denial of due process, the risk of death and destruction from a hurricane, plus irreversible damage to the Everglades and tribal lands, we will attend this scripted ‘tour’ to see the conditions and speak to detainees and guards,” they said.
“We will also return, unannounced, to conduct real oversight as the law allows and the American people demand.”
