Florida’s Everglades-based migrant detention facility, formally known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” is drawing criticism from Democrats and defense from Republicans following a tour over the weekend.

Florida

Florida's migrant detention facility, referred to as 'Alligator Alcatraz,' has become a point of contention between Democrats and Republicans following a recent closed-door tour. Democrats have raised concerns about detainee conditions, citing reports of extreme heat, inadequate medical care, poor hygiene, and a lack of transparency. They have filed a public records request to obtain more information about the facility's contracts, especially since companies led by GOP donors are reportedly involved in its operation.

Republicans, including Governor Ron DeSantis and State Senator Jay Collins, defend the facility as safe and effective, dismissing Democratic criticism as politically motivated. Legal efforts by Democrats to gain unfettered access to the site have been redirected to a lower court, with the governor labeling the lawsuit frivolous. The debate continues as lawmakers seek more oversight and information regarding the facility's management and funding.

Democrats push for transparency over migrant detention site

Following the state's closed-door tour Saturday, Republicans and Democrats are now telling drastically different stories about what they saw inside Alligator Alcatraz. These detainees are living in cages. The pictures that you've seen don't do it justice. Detainees have reported extreme heat, inadequate medical care, poor hygiene, mosquitoes and limited transparency at the temporary site. It all has former Dem, now Republican State Representative Susan Valdez mixed. I just don't agree with this facility. At all? At all. You think it should shut down? Well, it's out of my jurisdiction. It's above my pay grade, if you will. Alligator Alcatraz reportedly cost Florida around $450 million. The state says the federal government will reimburse, but Florida Democrats have filed a formal public records request, seeking more details on state contracts attached to the project, saying, quote, Floridians deserve to know exactly who's getting rich off their money. That's as the AP reports, companies led by GOP donors are doing the work. But I'll be back and we'll do an unannounced visit. U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost and other Democrats remain committed to seeing the spot unannounced. If rejected, he says he'll go to court. So we'll see if they give me grief. My intention would be to walk in no matter what, because I'm completely within my rights as a member of Congress to walk into a federal facility. State Democrats are trying to get unfettered access as well with their own lawsuit. Ladies and gentlemen, the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Court punting it to Leon County Court Monday, saying in part, quote, the transfer of this case should not be construed as an adjudication nor comment on the merits of the petition. Governor Ron DeSantis has called the lawsuit frivolous as his allies defend the facility as safe and effective. I applaud the governor's actions on this. I would do exactly the same thing if I were in his shoes, because it's the right thing to do. State Senator Jay Collins is seen inside Alligator Alcatraz and chalks up Democratic opposition not to problems, but politics, taking particular issue with the site being referred to as a, quote, concentration camp. I just came back from Israel. I was out there rescuing American citizens and bringing them back. I think that's a direct slap in the face to the Jewish community to compare what we have here to what we're talking about in concentration camps. And frankly, they should do a lot better than that. It's an embarrassment. In Tallahassee, Forrest Saunders, ABC Action News.

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Tehran

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Breakdown