Florida lawmakers who were denied access to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ sue DeSantis

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Five state lawmakers who were denied access to a new immigration detention center built by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration in the Florida Everglades have sued the governor, arguing that he overstepped his authority in blocking legislative oversight of the facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Thursday’s filing with the state Supreme Court is the most significant action yet by state officials seeking to challenge the DeSantis administration’s decision to construct and operate the 3,000-bed makeshift detention center at an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland.

The lawmakers argue that DeSantis and Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s emergency management division, unlawfully restricted the Legislature’s independence as a co-equal branch of government in denying them access to the facility on July 3.

“The DeSantis Administration’s refusal to let us in wasn’t some bureaucratic misstep. It was a deliberate obstruction meant to hide what’s really happening behind those gates,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “There is no statute that permits the Governor to overrule the Legislature’s oversight authority. This lawsuit is about defending the rule of law, protecting vulnerable people inside that facility, and stopping the normalization of executive overreach.”

Since blocking the five Democratic lawmakers from entering the center earlier this month, state officials have invited Florida legislators and members of Congress to visit the site this coming Saturday. The plaintiffs said they expect the tour to be a “tightly controlled walkthrough” that doesn’t meet their standard of “real oversight.”

A representative for DeSantis called the lawsuit “frivolous.”

“The State is looking forward to quickly dispensing with this dumb lawsuit,” said spokesperson Molly Best.

A message seeking comment about the response from the governor’s office was left with a spokesperson for the plaintiffs.

State officials raced to build the facility in a matter of days at a remote airfield in the protected wetlands about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami, outraging environmentalists and human rights advocates.

DeSantis’ administration built the multimillion-dollar center using emergency powers under an executive order the governor issued during the administration of then-President Joe Biden. It was signed amid what DeSantis deemed a crisis caused by illegal immigration. That emergency authority has allowed the state to sidestep purchasing requirements and seize land for the site from Miami-Dade County, over the objections of local officials.

The governor has touted the facility as a model to be replicated as the state works to aggressively carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

“Governor DeSantis has insisted that the state of Florida, under his leadership, will facilitate the federal government in enforcing immigration law,” a DeSantis spokesperson said in a previous statement.

“Florida will continue to lead on immigration enforcement.”

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.