State Offers Tour Of Immigrant Detention Center For State Lawmakers, U.S. Reps

By Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix

July 10, 2025

After denying entry to Democratic lawmakers last week, the Florida Division of Emergency Management is scheduling a tour of the Everglades immigrant detention center for state legislators and Congress members on Saturday.

The decision followed new reporting about poor conditions for those detained at the facility.

Lawmakers will be allowed entrance from 11 am to 12:30 pm. on Saturday, according to an email sent out by FDEM legislative affairs director Meigs Lamb.

Orlando-area Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani was one of five state legislative Democrats denied entrance to the facility last week. In a statement, she said she was glad to see public pressure force the state of Florida to open its doors for a scheduled tour of the Everglades Detention Center.

“But let’s be clear: This isn’t a field trip — it’s oversight,” she wrote. “The law grants us the right to enter these facilities unannounced, at any time. A scheduled 90-minute tour is not a substitute for lawful access and long-term legislative accountability. What FDEM is offering doesn’t undo their illegal denial or fulfill their legal obligation to us, members of the Florida Legislature. Floridians deserve genuine transparency, not curated photo opportunities, and we will continue to push for that type of unfettered access.”

State Sens. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Shevin Jones, and Reps. Angie Nixon and Michele Rayner, were also among the Democrats denied entry Thursday. They were told at the time that their entrance was being denied “due to safety concerns.”

“They claimed it wasn’t safe for us to enter unannounced but those same ‘safety concerns’ didn’t extend to those detained onsite or the president who toured two days prior,” Jones said in a written statement.

“Clearly, the state is trying to hide what is happening behind closed doors. I plan to join this weekend’s tour though fully expect it will be a sanitized version that suits the administration’s political objectives.”

The Democrats cited state statutes that allow them to inspect prisons and detention facilities.

However, on Monday night, a spokesperson for the FDEM said in a statement that another state statute grants inspection authority only to legislative committees, “not to individual legislators engaging in political theater. This distinction is crucial for ensuring that oversight is conducted through formal, established legislative processes.”

FDEM also said that while Florida statute 944.23 does authorize members of the Legislature to visit state correctional institutions, they have to be those under the jurisdiction of the Florida Department of Corrections.

“The Alligator Alcatraz facility is not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and does not otherwise fall within the statutory definition of a ‘state correctional institution,'” said FDEM spokesperson Stephanie Hartman, referring to the appellation given the facility by state leaders.

In recent days, there have been media reports about poor conditions at the 3,000 person-capacity tent and trailer detention center in the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. Multiple detainees told the Miami Herald and CBS News that they had gone days without showering, the toilets didn’t flush, and temperatures fluctuated between extremes.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava urged Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Tuesday to let the county, which owns the land where the detention center is located, have remote video access, schedule visits, and receive weekly site reports.

Jeremy Redfern, communications director for Attorney General James Uthmeier, denied the request. He called the reporting about poor conditions at “Alligator Alcatraz” “fake news” on X.

Not everyone is buying that accusation.

Miami-Dade Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia told the Phoenix that she will attend on Saturday, saying, “I’ve come across some complaints in the media that I’d like to investigate myself.”

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