‘Alligator Alcatraz’ an inhumane waste of money

Alligator Alcatraz is the official name of the detention center in Florida’s Everglades. As Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida stated, no one held there was of European descent for any visa issues.

The pictures the representative showed were of the cages inside tents. Each cage had a 32-person capacity. Take out the bunk beds and three toilets and it looks like a bare cage at a zoo’s monkey enclosure. A floor and all chain-link fencing.

This hurriedly built facility was erected within a National Preserve, a homeland of a Florida Native American tribe and a fragile area prone to damaging floods and hurricanes. Security includes members of the Florida National Guard. No environmental impact assessment was carried out nor was any public input made available. FEMA will be reimbursing Miami-Dade County $450 million for running the facility for a year because the county owns the seized 39 acres including an old air strip. Wasteful spending?

There’s so much more, but anyone reading this should feel a chill down their spine. This smacks of concentration camp treatment. Basic humane treatment must be afforded to all, criminal or not. The unrestrained sweeps grabbing people who look like they’re from Mexico or further south is wrong, illegal, un-American and racial profiling.

This is all wasteful political theater. Florida Republicans are cashing in by selling Alligator Alcatraz T-shirts, hats and bottle coolers. Making money off misery. Classy.

Karen Carlton

Waukon