CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A local activist group is voicing its concerns about plans for an immigrant detention center at Camp Blanding in Clay County on Saturday.
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Hundreds of people across the state braved the heat and let it be known that they don’t want the facility to turn into an immigration detention center.
Though Governor Ron DeSantis said plans aren’t moving forward with Camp Blanding yet, some of the protesters feel like that’s not a good enough answer to make them stop worrying.
“The main message is that people are still willing to come out and fight,” Monica Martinez of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, said. “The main message is that we are a voice for the voiceless, that undocumented people do not have to be afraid that they do not have to live in fear because there are people in the community that will have their back.”
A counter protester in attendance said that he was there because he supports ICE.
“I came out here because I feel like they obviously don’t support ICE,” Chandler said. “I support ICE because we need more facilities to hold more illegal immigration. We can’t just have illegals into our country without them going through a process.”
Alligator Alcatraz is designed to hold thousands of migrants, but has become the center of controversy.
Emails obtained by the Associated Press revealed that Collier County officials were caught off guard and just beginning to look into rumors about the detention center when state workers were already on site.
Last week, five Democratic lawmakers filed a lawsuit related to the facility.
On Wednesday, detainees at the center also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging inhumane conditions. That lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, and claims the center violates the constitutional rights of those detained.
