State Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, said Wednesday that he’s accepted an invitation from the DeSantis administration to tour the controversial Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center in the Everglades.
But the South Florida legislator said he expects to see “a sanitized version that suits the administration’s political objectives” on his scheduled tour on Saturday.
Jones said he is among several state legislators and members of Congress invited to tour the facility by the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Jones was among several Democratic state legislators who were denied entry to the immigration detention center last Thursday when they tried to see firsthand the conditions experienced by suspected undocumented immigrants being held there.
READ MORE: Florida legislators 'illegally' denied entry to 'Alligator Alcatraz'. They vow: 'We will be back'
“Last week, four of my fellow state lawmakers and I attempted to inspect the Trump-DeSantis’ prison camp, seeking answers about the facility given how it came to be with zero legislative oversight,” said Jones in a statement. “The state broke the law, denying our entry and ability to see the truth: human beings being held in inhumane, dangerous conditions.”
Jones cited the Miami Herald for its reporting that detainees — according to interviews with relatives — complained about problems with toilets, showers and air conditioning inside tents on the grounds of the large camp. The Herald reported that detainees told relatives that they had no access to confidential calls with their attorneys.
Jones said it was hypocritical of Florida officials to deny him and his fellow Democratic legislators access when only days earlier they allowed President Donald Trump and other administration officials to tour the facility.
“Clearly, the state is trying to hide what is happening behind closed doors,” he said. “I plan to join this weekend’s tour though fully expect it will be a sanitized version that suits the administration’s political objectives.”
The first group of suspected undocumented immigrants arrived last week at the detention center.
Florida officials raced to erect the compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and temporary buildings in eight days, as part of the state’s efforts to help carry out Trump’s immigration crackdown. It includes more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet of barbed wire and 400 security staff.
The facility is located at an airport used for training about 50 miles west of Miami and will have a capacity of about 3,000 detainees when fully operational, according to state officials.
The center is estimated to cost $450 million a year, with the expenses incurred by Florida and reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a U.S. official said.
Immigrants apprehended Florida law enforcement officers under the federal government's 287(g) program will be taken to the facility, according to a Trump administration official. The program, led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allows police officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation.
Environmental groups and Native American tribes have protested against the center, contending it is a threat to the fragile Everglades system, would be cruel to detainees because of heat and mosquitoes and is on land the tribes consider sacred.
