Locals Say No to Alligator Alcatraz

Following constituents' concerns, Collier County Commissioners discussed the status of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center being installed at the Miami Dade Jet Port located in Ochopee on Tuesday morning. Collier County officials were disappointed not to be informed about the project sooner, they said.  

“I have to be careful not biting the hand that feeds me,” Collier County Emergency Manager Dan Summers said. 

Many state and county government officials were not only not included in the decision but were not informed, thus not afforded any time to inform their constituents about the detention center that may house 5,000 or more immigrants as early as July 1, per ever-changing plans announced by Uthmeier as of Tuesday. 

On Saturday morning, Collier County staff communications to state officials about Alligator Alcatraz revealed the immigration detention center was just a plan. However, by end of the day, mobilization on the site had already begun without any return contact, county officials said. Uthmeier initially made his plan public on the social media platform X on Thursday, June 19. 

“This is in my district. I had no visibility on this whatsoever,” said Commissioner Bill McDaniel, who initially thought the social media announcement was a political ploy with almost no potential to become reality. 

“I am very disappointed,” McDaniel said during Tuesday’s Council meeting.  
Collier County Commission Chairman Burt Saunders was most concerned about hurricane safety and response, he said. After all, the invasive Burmese pythons killing most of the mammals in the Everglades were due to a release following a hurricane. Despite Uthmeier’s threats that the snakes could kill the immigrants, Burmese pythons are not aggressive to humans.  

“We’re in the middle of a hurricane season, everybody knows that. It becomes our problem with thousands of people out there,” Saunders said.  
“I’m going to address that,” Summers replied.  

Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie is to be the communications point person on the project, they said. So, public information will not be made available through Collier County government.  

Instead, people are urged to communicate with state, federal and Miami-Dade officials. Miami-Dade made a real estate deal with the state to use the land for the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center.  

Although Collier County Sheriff's Office officials were at the site guarding the gate with Miami Dade Police, Collier County has no jurisdiction over the matter, Saunders said. County Attorney Jeff Klatzkow is confirming that the county could have no say in the matter as of Tuesday.  

Legal Questions Raised by Alligator Alcatraz 
The process or lack of process has many individuals and organizations questioning the legality of Alligator Alcatraz, despite its stemming from the state’s legal authority.  

Declaring in communications to Collier and Miami-Dade counties after the plans were already put into motion that the state’s use was emergency related, and because they are using what are described as temporary facilities, several legal and environmental assessment processes have been avoided thus far.  

“What really stands out to me is that it’s the state of Florida that’s initiating this detention center. The states should not be in the business of building detention centers for immigrants that are awaiting deportation,” immigration attorney Hector Diaz said.  

“These detention centers are for processing and for temporarily housing them if they are not eligible for a bond or cannot be immediately deported,” Diaz continued.  Florida has authorized Florida Highway Patrol and local sheriffs to arrest undocumented immigrants. 

“Pretty soon, before you know it, the state will start appointing immigration judges and prosecutors, and have their own immigration system,” Diaz warned.  Meanwhile, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida was reviewing all potential steps that could be taken to protect the site and the Tribe. Several Seminole and Miccosukee families live near the site and are concerned. 

 
“The Miccosukee Tribe is opposed to the use of our ancestral lands in Big Cypress as a detention facility. The State would save substantial taxpayer dollars by pursuing its goals at a different location with more existing infrastructure and less environmental and cultural impacts to the Big Cypress and Tribal lands,” said Miccosukee Tribal Chairman Talbert Cypress in a prepared statement issued Monday.  

Hundreds of people, and some estimating nearly 1,000 attendees, gathered for an educational protest on Sunday along U.S. 41, opening with indigenous ritual and prayer and carrying signs of opposition. Vehicles lined the Tamiami Trail and people stood along the side of the road.  

Alligator Alcatraz Contacts 

- Gov. Ron DeSantis at (850) 717-9337 

• Florida Attorney General’s Office (850) 414-3300 or (800) 226-6667 

• Project updates are available to the public through Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, kevin.Guthrie@em.myflorida.com or call (850) 294-8250. 

• Friends of the Everglades set up a link everglades.org/no-alligator-alcatraz to communicate efficiently to Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. 

• Betty Osceola, who has a strong social media presence on FB.com/buffalotiger.airboattours, is likely to announce updates, including the possibility of another event.