Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Today, Florida’s Congressional Democratic delegation introduced the No Cages in the Everglades Act to defund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) lawless, inhumane immigration detention site within South Florida’s ecologically sensitive tribal lands, and to ensure more robust access, public data, and Congressional oversight there and in all similar facilities. It was introduced by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), along with her fellow Florida Reps. Kathy Castor (FL-14), Frederica Wilson, (FL-24) Lois Frankel (FL-22), Darren Soto (FL-9), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), and Jared Moskowitz (FL-23).

“Trump and Ron DeSantis have exploited legal ambiguity around this Everglades internment camp to avoid any scrutiny of abuses there,” said Wasserman Schultz. “Our bill would shut down this atrocity, strengthen oversight of detention facilities nationwide, and mandate public reporting on costs, conditions, and the treatment of detainees at this detention site, as well as report on any harms to the environment and nearby tribal lands. The public deserves the full truth about what’s happening in and around this facility and  they deserve accountability for any laws broken.”

“The reports coming out of Trump’s so-called ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ are deeply disturbing,” said Frankel. “Detained immigrants—many of whom have no criminal record—are being denied water, medicine, legal counsel, and other basic human rights. Turning our beloved Everglades—an environmentally protected area that provides drinking water to millions and is home to a treasured national park—into a prison camp is outrageous and un-American. This bill puts a stop to the madness. It bars ICE from using this dangerous and inappropriate facility, ensures Members of Congress have access to detention sites for proper oversight, and demands accountability through an Inspector General review. We need serious immigration reform, not cruel political stunts that waste taxpayer dollars and violate our values.”

“The Everglades Detention Center is a danger to federal agents, the Florida National Guard, ICE detainees, and others, as it is built on a flood plain and can only withstand a Category 2 hurricane,” said Soto. “ On top of that, ICE detaines are held in inhumane, crowded, hot, and unsanitary conditions—32 to a cage, 83-degree temperatures, non-functioning toilets, and mosquito-infested conditions. This facility should be shut down immediately.”

“I’m proud to be an original co-sponsor of the No Cages in the Everglades Act and to stand with those courageously exposing the inhumane conditions at this detention facility,” said Cherfilus-McCormick. “No one should be subjected to unsafe, degrading treatment, and we cannot meet these injustices with silence or symbolic gestures. We have a moral responsibility to act decisively. Every person in our custody deserves dignity, safety, and basic human rights.”

"What's happening in the Everglades is nothing short of a modern-day immigrant internment camp," said Frost. "We will not sit back while the State of Florida and the Department of Homeland Security spend hundreds of millions of dollars and partner up to turn protected wetlands into a place of imaginable horror – a hell-on-Earth where hundreds of men are held in cages in tents under the scorching sun under the guide of public safety. This is not security. This is cruelty. This is not immigration policy. This is dehumanization."

The No Cages in the Everglades Act bill would: 

• Prohibit DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from contracting with, funding, or operating any immigration detention facility located in or adjacent to the Everglades.
• Prevent harm to sacred tribal lands, endangered wildlife, and the Everglades’ ecological balance — which are already under immense pressure. 
• Explicitly affirm Members of Congress’ right to inspect any facility holding federal immigration detainees, whether it’s owned or operated by the federal government, a state, or a private contractor. This ensures accountability and compliance with federal law.
• Require the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General to investigate and report on the conditions, costs, and impacts of this facility including its effect on detainees, the environment, and nearby tribal lands, so Congress and the public get the full truth about what’s happening and whether any laws have been broken. 

This bill is also supported by:

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• Detention Watch Network
• Church World Service (CWS)
• National Immigration Law Center (NILC)

Read the full text of the legislation here.