NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker confronted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday about the alarming reports of alleged mistreatment at Florida’s controversial migrant detention facility, “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Citing firsthand accounts from Democratic lawmakers who toured the site over the weekend, Welker pressed Noem about reports that detainees were crammed into overcrowded cages and forced to drink and brush their teeth using water from the same source as the toilet.
“Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the conditions there are inhumane — more than 30 people stuffed into a jail cell,” Welker said. “She said they drink and brush their teeth from the same place they use the bathroom. Madam Secretary, what do you say to lawmakers who argue this is not humane treatment?”
Noem, while acknowledging the facility is state-run by Florida and not under direct federal control, strongly defended the conditions.
“Our federal detention centers are held to higher standards than most local or state facilities — even higher than federal prisons,” she said. “Now, this is a state-run facility at Alligator Alcatraz—”
Welker cut in:
“More than 30 people in a jail cell?!”
“I’ve been to the site,” Noem responded. “I wouldn’t describe them as ‘jail cells.’ These are secure facilities where individuals are being held, and the standards align with federal detention requirements.”
When Welker noted that Democrats have labeled them ‘cages,’ Noem pushed back sharply.
“I wish they would’ve used that language during the Biden administration, when people were packed onto cement floors without even two feet of space,” Noem said. “That kind of overcrowding didn’t get the same scrutiny. That’s why this political game has to stop.”
She went on to say the Trump administration has allowed media access and would continue to do so to document conditions inside the facility.
“We’ve taken cameras in, and we’ll do it again. These facilities exceed many local and federal standards,” she said. “Compared to what happened under Biden and Obama, this is a vast improvement.”
The exchange comes amid growing controversy surrounding Alligator Alcatraz, which has drawn criticism from lawmakers, immigration advocates, and environmental groups. While Republican officials maintain the facility is secure and well-run, Democrats have described it as overcrowded and dehumanizing.
