JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – About one week after Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) said she was denied access to the controversial immigration facility in the Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” the local politician said she has now been invited for a “tour” of the facility.
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In a video posted to her social media accounts, Nixon says she was invited by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which will host the tour for an hour and a half on Saturday, July 12, exclusively for Florida state legislators and members of Congress.
A screenshot shown by Nixon in the video reveals an email sent to her by the agency.
“In the words of Representative Anna Eskamani, (D-Orlando), ‘This ain’t no g**d*** field trip,” Nixon said. “We are going simply for oversight and transparency.”
She also explained that the “tour” should not qualify as an acceptable level of access, as legislators should be able to visit the facility unannounced.
Additionally, Nixon said that she’s heard from various families expressing deep concern about the conditions their loved ones have endured during their time in the detention center, including not receiving adequate food, being allowed to clean themselves only once a week, and that various hired workers have quit due to a lack of payment.
“These are reports that we’re hearing...not sure if it’s true or not, but I also don’t trust and believe anything that comes out of anyone who is under Ron DeSantis’ mouth right now,” Nixon said. “We will give more information as we learn it.”
Her comments come after various news outlets, which have spoken to detainees or lawyers of detainees, report a lack of access to water, issues with electricity, and that some food served by the facility has worms in it.
Last week, Nixon posted to social media saying she and other lawmakers traveled to Alligator Alcatraz to ensure the detainees were being treated “safely, humanely, with dignity and respect” following the facility’s opening on July 1.
However, she said they were denied access due to “safety” concerns.
Alligator Alcatraz was built in eight days over 10 miles of the Everglades, and reportedly contains the following features:
- More than 200 security cameras
- 28,000-plus feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire
- 400 security personnel
- Once fully operational, the facility will have a capacity to house about 3,000 detainees
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier came up with the idea of building the detention center in its current location. He is also responsible for coming up with its irregular name.
“If somebody were to get out, there’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, only the alligators and pythons are waiting. That’s why I like to call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’” Uthmeier told Fox Business.
The detention center has received significant pushback from state officials, community members, environmental activists, and Native Americans advocating for their ancestral homeland.
Furthermore, on Thursday, News4JAX partner station, WKMG-6 in Orlando, reported that Democratic lawmakers in Florida filed a lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, arguing that they should have unmitigated access to Alligator Alcatraz because it is a facility, more specifically a prison, owned by the state.
