Donald Trump and maga Republicans create cruel inhumane Alligator Alcatraz where local residents oppose unlawful immigrant detention

Echo opinion letter published in the News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida:

As South Florida residents, we are appalled by the construction and operation of Alligator Alcatraz, an affront to American values right in our backyard. This makeshift facility, built in secret on a remote airstrip, is a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe. The governor’s initiative to detain immigrants without due process subverts established legal rights and constitutional protections. 

People have been arrested for minor traffic violations, brought to jail, fingerprinted and handed over to ICE. The data show the risks of this have grown since January 2025, as federal officials expand efforts to work with state and local authorities to apprehend and deport immigrants with no prior convictions.

Eyewitness and legal accounts of the conditions within Alligator Alcatraz are horrifying. Reports of unsanitary conditions, inadequate medical care, and the denial of confidential access to legal counsel are not the hallmarks of a just society.

The location itself is an insult to our state’s natural heritage. Ripping up the fragile Everglades ecosystem to build a barbed-wire compound shows a callous disregard for the environment that defines our region. We should be stewards of our land, not exploiters of it for a cruel and politically motivated project.

We must join the outraged voices — from legal and environmental groups to neighbors and human rights advocates — to demand an immediate end to Alligator Alcatraz and insist on a humane and lawful approach to immigration. This facility is a moral stain on our community and a dangerous precedent for our nation.

From Alison and Clay Wescott, in Naples, Florida