Former 'Alligator Alcatraz' guards say detention center overrun by mosquitoes
The facility has become a symbol for the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policy, and other states are considering using the model for their own facilities, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
Just two weeks after the controversial immigration detention in the Everglades dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" opened, the facility is already facing several logistical issues as public scrutiny grows with allegations of human rights abuses.
Reports from numerous outlets indicate portable toilets at the Florida facility routinely back up, sewage needs to be collected and trucked out, and swarms of mosquitoes attack detainees and staff alike.
The facility lacks permanent structures, electricity, and running water, requiring drinking and bathing water to be brought in several times a day while still being in short supply, and rainwater leaks into the tents that protect detainees' chain-link cells, according to reporting from the Washington Post, citing three former guards and phone interviews with detainees.
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The accounts from the former guards detail the horrific conditions inside the $450 million detention center erected in a matter of weeks. The facility has become a symbol for the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policy, and other states are considering using the model for their own facilities, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who is looking to double the nation's immigrant detention capacity to 100,000 beds.
The makeshift facility has garnered backlash from Democrats, human rights organizations, environmental activists, local tribal leaders, and immigration attorneys, who say it is inhumane and costly.
However, Florida state officials have disputed those claims, despite not allowing independent inspections of the facility as requested by lawmakers.
“The plumbing and sewage claims are false. The facility is in good working order, and detainees have access to drinking water, showers, and clean facilities for hygiene,” Stephanie Hartman, deputy director of communications for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, told the Washington Post in an email.
Three former guards at the facility told the Post that they were first attracted to the position due to the pay — online ads and a hiring document reviewed by The Washington Post show they were offered $26 an hour plus overtime at $39 an hour.
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Two of the guards said they were hired by Critical Response Strategies, a Jacksonville, Florida-based consulting company, to work on a rotation of between 21 and 28 days, with seven to 14 days off in between, the Post reported. One of the former guards said she left the position after witnessing the conditions for staff and detainees. Both guards hired by CRS said they were asked to start working the same day they applied for the position online.
According to Florida's contract website, the consulting company has a $78 million contract with the state of Florida to help manage the facility, including providing a warden, camp manager, and correction officers.
According to the Post, guards are issued a can of mosquito spray on their first day of work, but detainees are only sprayed once when they arrive.
"The mosquitoes are filling the bathrooms, the showers. You go in the shower, you shower with a million mosquitoes. They give you bug spray, but that still doesn't help," a retired South Florida county jail officer who worked as a contracted guard for nearly two weeks told the Post. According to the Post, that guard was reportedly fired by her CRS supervisor for reasons she said were not explained to her.
“Most of us have skin irritations from mosquitoes; they don’t give us spray. All of us worry that we’ll get a disease because of the mosquitoes,” Anderson Miranda, 25, who came to the United States from Guatemala when he was 16 years old, told the Post. “The mosquitoes don’t let you sleep,” said Juan Javier Gonzalez, 49, who migrated from the Dominican Republic.
In order to build the facility, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seized the land on which the facility was constructed under an emergency declaration he issued during the Biden administration. The facility is built on a little-used airfield in the Big Cypress National Preserve next to Everglades National Park.
Asked by the Post to comment on the accounts from former guards and current detainees, state officials defended the conditions at the detention center, saying the detainees have access to potable water and that full-size showers are available daily without restrictions.
“Each individual is issued a personal cup they can refill at any time, and bottled water is provided at meals,” Hartman said in an email to the Post. “Tanks are regularly sanitized, flushed, and tested to ensure water quality.”
