Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) is calling for the immediate closure of a controversial new immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades—nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz”—following a weekend visit with a congressional delegation.
Speaking on CNN’s The Lead Tuesday, Wasserman Schultz described disturbing conditions at the remote site, which was recently constructed under Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ immigration crackdown.
“What we saw were humans caged—32 detainees per cage, eight cages inside a tent, wall to wall people,” she told host Jake Tapper. “It’s an hour and a half into the Everglades, in the middle of a swamp, with no infrastructure. Everything has to be trucked in. This facility costs $450 million a year—twice the normal amount spent per detainee. The whole point of this is spectacle and abuse.”
She accused the state of deliberately inflicting cruelty as a political tool. “They told us everyone there was at the end of their legal proceedings, awaiting deportation,” she said. “Then I read The Miami Herald the next morning and found out most of them haven’t had due process, haven’t been convicted of anything. They’re just being warehoused in cages for the sake of distraction and political theater.”
Calling the site “inhumane” and a “stunt,” Wasserman Schultz didn’t hold back: “This place needs to be shut the hell down.”
