It’s no secret that Florida politicians are in favor of chaining up immigrants and sending them to detention centers while they wait in terror to be shipped off to a random country. In fact, officials have created what has become known as Alligator Alcatraz in the heart of the Florida Everglades. Despite the conditions already being terrible, prisoners who are actively being detained inside the facility have decided to enter a hunger strike. Now, the strike has entered its tenth day, with detainees and former staff still complaining about the horrendous living conditions.
Floridians have been fighting hard against government officials placing a detention center at the heart of the state. The above Reddit post highlights various articles across different media outlets that detail various events that have occurred at the facility. However, despite the severity of the situation, official statements from those leading the facility have both downplayed and denied the strikes as a whole. More specifically, the post reads: “As official statements downplay or deny the hunger strike, the severity of reported conditions, hospitalizations, and legal actions suggests a deeper crisis of oversight and empathy. This facility, which is a high-cost, high-secrecy project, symbolizes the emerging model of rapid deportation infrastructure in the U.S., raising urgent questions about dignity, due process, and environmental justice. This is a renewal of the concentration camps, but this time it’s at home. And we aren’t fighting it hard enough.”
A Cuban man named Pedro Lorenzo Concepción appears to be the one leading the charge, as it’s been reported that he’s refused food altogether in protest against these horrendous conditions. Official reports have refused to acknowledge exactly what he is doing, and have decided to allow him to play with his own life while under their care.
In a separate situation happening within those same walls, a 15-year-old girl was detained in an adult male facility before having been identified and separated. It is unclear exactly what went on behind closed doors, but it has raised questions concerning oversights toward the safety of minors. Who knows how many times this has already happened within the same facility, especially considering that it hasn’t been in use for very long.
Alligator Alcatraz has been opposed by people even outside the state of Florida, as it is clearly an obstruction of basic human rights. Personally, it doesn’t sit well with me that so much money has been and is being poured into the project without any real input from those in the neighborhood. There’s no way that people in the Everglades are simply allowing this to happen.
