Democratic members of the Florida congressional delegation want to stop federal money from flowing to what they described as the “lawless, inhumane immigration detention site” in the

A group of Florida Democrats in Congress introduced a bill to cut off funding for Alligator Alcatraz and any immigration detention facility located in or near the Everglades. The bill aims to ensure access, public disclosure on how it operates, and Congressional oversight.

Dubbed the "No Cages in the Everglades Act," the six-page bill was sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston

Seeking to expand Florida’s role in federal immigration enforcement, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in May 2025 submitted the state’s Immigration Enforcement Operations Plan to the Trump administration. The plan,

Alligator Alcatraz, a migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, is surrounded by swamps infested with dangerous alligators and pythons.

Several immigrant detainees described high tension and anxiety at the remote, hastily constructed facility over a lack of information, recreation and access to medication.

Some people detained at the facility have violent criminal histories. But data and news reports about the first month’s arrivals show the majority of Alligator Alcatraz’s detainees do not have U.S. criminal convictions.

The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is seeking to join a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the construction and operation of a new immigration detention facility in the Everglades, which tribal members consider their sacred ancestral homelands.

At least five Republican governors are reportedly considering building large-scale immigration detention centers modeled after Florida’s