EXCLUSIVE: Alligator Alcatraz ICE Prisoners Suddenly Relocated as Everglades Pounded by Rain
Status Coup has learned a large swath of immigrant prisoners being held in the makeshift tent prison were suddenly relocated—to where, and why, we don't yet know.
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Roughly two weeks after opening its doors in the swamps of Florida’s Everglades, Status Coup has learned from multiple sources that a large swath of the 700 plus undocumented immigrant prisoners being held at the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE prison were removed from the facility and relocated to other ICE facilities.
Florida State Representative Anna Eskamani, who along with other Democratic state lawmakers were blocked from inspecting the controversial ICE prison on July 3, told Status Coup she was receiving accounts from inside the detention center that a large number of prisoners were recently removed from the prison and relocated elsewhere. Another state senator told Status Coup they too were receiving concerning reports about prisoners being suddenly removed and relocated.
As of now, Eskamani and others concerned about the prison haven’t been able to confirm where the prisoners have been relocated, how many were relocated, and for what reason they were relocated (Eskamani noted she is still working to verify details about the relocations). It is believed some of the removed prisoners were relocated an hour west to ICE’s Krome Detention Center—where 75-year-old Cuban national Isidro Perez recently died in custody.
As is common—and weather experts have warned—Florida is currently in the midst of its wet season; there has been several days of heavy rains, and flash flood warnings, for Collier County, where the ramshackle immigration prison was hastily constructed in a manner opponents argue is unsafe. This past weekend, the area the prison is located was put under a special weather statement by the National Weather Service due to 45 to 50 mph wind gusts.
Notably, on the first day the prison opened, videos of flooding inside the prison—after a mere inch-and-a-half of rain—surfaced. The region is also forecasted to have a tropical storm system coming through this week into next week, threatening continued heavy rains, flooding, and dangerous conditions.
“It’s a death trap, people are going to die,” climate scientist Rebekah Jones warned to Status Coup, warning that the makeshift-tent prison couldn’t safely withstand a major thunderstorm—much less a tropical storm or hurricane—and would potentially kill hundreds of undocumented immigrants being held inside (many with no criminal charges).
Florida Governor Ron Desantis, boasted that the detention camp was constructed in eight days—a fact which seems indisputable after recent reports of the harrowing conditions inside the facility, including: residents receiving food filled with maggots, toilets not flushing, swarming mosquitoes biting prisoners while they’re awake and asleep, sweltering heat, prisoners going without showers, drinking water coming from the same source as the toilet, lights being on inside the prison 24/7, prisoners being deprived medicine, and more.
Making matters worse, immigration attorneys have sounded the alarm that they can not meet with their immigrant clients or even get in contact with them inside. Some of those attorneys were given an email, legal@privacy6.com, to set up appointments with their clients—but the email bounced back after they sent it.
When Status Coup sent the account an email, we received a response assuring “we are working diligently to ensure timely, secure, and reliable attorney-client communication. We recognize the importance of these interactions and are committed to continuously improving the systems that support them.”
At least five people have died in ICE custody in Florida this year and three of those five deaths happened at ICE’s Krome Detention Center an hour west of Alligator Alcatraz. In Texas, last week’s horrific flooding left at least 134 people dead and 101 people still missing—if these relocations are due to an expected continuation or escalation of severe weather, Texas seems a poor choice in this moment.
Taxpayers have shelled out at least $450 million for this detention center (though Dropsite News reported that number to be over $600 million), and it would seem that the facility—which is housing hundreds of immigrants with no criminal backgrounds—has proven unfit after being in operation for less than two weeks.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management, which oversees Alligator Alcatraz, did not respond to Status Coup’s questions or request for comment. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
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