Following news coverage of allegedly inhumane living conditions and violations of religious rights at a new immigrant detention facility in Florida, World Relief is advocating for the people being kept there. On Tuesday (July 8), the Christian humanitarian organization addressed concerns about the center in the Everglades that has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The tent-and-trailer facility, built in eight days at the defunct Dade-Collier Airport, can reportedly hold up to 5,000 people. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier described Alligator Alcatraz as a “one-stop shop to carry out President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.”
Since the first detainees arrived on July 3, reports have surfaced about extreme heat, mosquitoes, 24-hour lighting, poor hygiene, lack of access to medications, little food, maggots in meals, and violations of religious freedom. Immigration attorneys say they have no access to their clients and no information about jurisdictional issues.
State officials have denied the allegations from detainees of inhumane living conditions at Alligator Alcatraz.
World Relief: Alligator Alcatraz Detainees Deserve Humane Treatment, Religious Rights
In its July 8 press release, World Relief urged Florida officials and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE) to investigate “these troubling allegations and ensure that all detainees are treated humanely and allowed access to Bibles and other religious materials.” State and federal laws protect the religious rights of detainees, whether in civil or criminal facilities.
RELATED: DHS Border Protection Video Citing Isaiah 6:8 Sparks Cries of ‘Blasphemy’
Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief, said, “Christians believe that all people have been made in the image of God and should be spoken of and treated with dignity.”
“We must do better than joking about human beings made in God’s image as alligator food—and,” he added, “even in those cases where detention is appropriate for public safety reasons, when someone has been convicted of a violent crime, our government should treat all people humanely, respecting our own laws.”
Although statistics about Florida’s new detainees aren’t available, World Relief said only 7% of detained immigrants in the United States have been convicted of violent crimes. Detentions are likely to spike following last week’s signing of President Trump’s budget reconciliation bill, the organization noted, because that legislation significantly boosted the immigration-enforcement budget.
People who fled countries for humanitarian reasons are among those at risk of being detained and deported, according to World Relief.
“Most Americans, including most evangelical Christians, want immigrants [who’ve been] convicted of violent crimes to be detained and deported,” said Matthew Soerens, World Relief’s vice president of advocacy and policy.
“But very few want non-criminal immigrants to be deportation priorities when they have lived peaceably in the country for years,” he said, “are performing vital roles in our local economies, or have U.S. citizen family members from whom they would be separated if detained or deported.”
Reports From Inside Alligator Alcatraz
Detainees have described unsanitary conditions at Alligator Alcatraz, making allegations to reporters and family members about crowded conditions, extreme heat and humidity, a lack of bath water, denial of medications, and mosquitoes “as big as elephants.”
One man, originally from Colombia, said authorities confiscated his Bible. “They said here there is no right to religions,” he said. “And my Bible is the one thing that keeps my faith, and now I’m losing my faith.”
Another detainee said, “We’re human beings; we’re not dogs. We’re like rats in an experiment.” About the authorities, he added, “I don’t know their motive for doing this, if it’s a form of torture. A lot of us have our residency documents, and we don’t understand why we’re here.”
Human-rights advocates have expressed concerns about housing so many people in the Everglades during hurricane season. Environmental advocates and Native American groups claim Alligator Alcatraz will negatively impact the fragile land. And immigration attorneys say they’ve been unable to locate and contact detainees, who are being denied due process.
