Alligator Alcatraz

Members of the Miccosukee Tribe are trying to join a lawsuit challenging an immigrant detention center in the Everglades.

The Everglades immigrant detention facility has come under fire by Democratic lawmakers who toured it over the weekend and reported harsh and horrific conditions.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis provided no materials explaining how he concluded Alligator Alcatraz has "zero impact." Environmental groups filed a lawsuit for failing to conduct an environmental assessment.

A DHS official dismissed the report by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times, saying many of the detainees counted as '"noncriminals" are "terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more" without U.S. rap sheets.

Democrats report "disturbing" and unsanitary conditions, while Republicans say the detention facility is safely run.

Worms in the food. Toilets that don't flush. Floors flooded with fecal waste. Lack of access to attorneys and medical care. These are the conditions described by some detainees at the immigration facility.

This week on The Florida Roundup, we spoke about the new immigrant detention center in the Everglades with Rep. Anna Eskamani and spoke about the contractors who have been hired to operate the facility with Bob Norman of the Florida Trident. Then, we were joined by former state senator Jeff Brandes about property insurance reform.

The Center for Biological Diversity put federal and state agencies on notice, saying they violated federal laws while constructing an immigrant detention center in the Everglades. Agencies have 60 days to comply or the group will file suit.

State Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, along with state Reps. Dr. Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando, Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, and Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, said they were not allowed to tour the facility off Tamiami Trail in the Everglades when they made a July 3 surprise visit.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management has invited state legislators and members of Congress to tour the immigration detention facility in the Everglades.

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit seeking to close "Alligator Alcatraz," but the Trump administration has sought to distance the federal government from the project.

Uthmeier is running in 2026 to keep the job he was appointed to and have some wondering whether he'd face a challenge from other Florida Republicans.