Miami– Five Democratic congressmen of Florida announced on Wednesday their participation in a visit scheduled by the state government to the detention center in the Everglades, although they denounced that it is a “manipulated tour” that seeks to cover up alleged abuse.
“As members of the Congress, we planned a supervision visit without prior notice to this Everglades detention center. Today we received a notification of the State announcing their own” visit “planned, at the same time and the same day. We do not need permission to carry out legal supervision,” the representatives made clear.
In the center of controversy
The Immigrant Detention Center in the Everglades, nicknamed “Aligator Alcatraz”, has generated controversy since its recent opening promoted by the administration of Governor Ron Desantis, within the framework of a more severe state immigration policy. According to critics and human rights organizations, the conditions of the detainees could be inhuman, aggravated by the geographical isolation of the site and its vulnerability to hurricanes.
On July 3, a delegation of Democratic state legislators tried to inspect the installation without prior notice, but was rejected for alleged security reasons. Now, federal representatives received an official invitation from the Emergency Management Department of Florida (FDEM) for a guided tour on the same date on which they had already planned an unnoticed inspection.
We do not need authorization to supervise
That is why federal representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Darren Soto (FL-9), Maxwell Frost (FL-10) and Jared Moskowitz (FL-23) spread a joint statement where they express that they will accept attending the official route, but warned that “it does not replace a true supervision.”
“This hygienized tour is not a real supervision,” they said, warning that both FdeM and ICE could offer “rehearsed responses” and “makeup conditions” to hide the inhuman treatment that would be happening in the installation.
Legislators insisted that, in addition to participating in this scheduled visit, they will return on another occasion without prior notice “as the law allows and the American people demand.”
They express their concern
They also reiterated their concern about “horrible living conditions, the systematic denial of due process, the risk of death by hurricanes and the irreversible damage to the Everglades and tribal land ecosystem.”
The controversial visit again puts the migratory policies of Florida, state control over facilities financed with public funds from Miami-Dade County and the supervisory role of legislators against state actions that could violate fundamental rights.
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