A former corrections officer who worked at the already-notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention center in Florida has come forward to warn about the “inhumane” conditions in which detainees are being held at the facility.
Identified only as Lindsey to protect herself and her family from harassment, NBC’s Miami affiliate interviewed the officer and compared conditions at the camp to “an oversized kennel,” describing its poor facilities and inmates, many of whom are not criminals, living in fear.
She said that she had been hired by the security company GardaWorld Federal Services and agreed to be paid $26 an hour on a five days on, two days off basis, which required her to live in a shared trailer on site with other staff.
Lindsey said she began working at the camp on July 6. Still, her employment lasted only a week because she contracted Covid-19, had to self-isolate, and was then fired after being accused of “altering medical paperwork submitted to the company,” an allegation she denied.
“It’s inhumane the way that they’re keeping their residents,” she told NBC6 of her experiences. “When I got there, it was overwhelming. I thought it would get better. But it just never did.”
She said that each tent at the facility contained eight large cages, holding 35 to 38 inmates, meaning that each tent housed close to 300 people.
Discussing the conditions in which the detainees were being held, she said: “They have no sunlight. There’s no clock in there. They don’t even know what time of the day it is.
“They have no access to showers. They shower every other day or every four days. The bathrooms are backed up because you [have] got so many people using them.”
Lindsey added that rainwater poured into the tents on stormy days and that everyone present found themselves in a “constant battle” with mosquitoes due to the Everglades’ close and humid climate.
“Not everybody there is a criminal,” she said. “These people are still human. They pulled them from their livelihood. They’re scared. They don’t speak our language.”
Lindsey said the harsh conditions were also rough on staff: “We had to use the porta-johns. We didn’t have hot water half the time. Our bathrooms were backed up.”
Asked about her motivations for coming forward, she said: “I was fired. And yeah, I’m p****d off. But more so than ever, like, they’re doing wrong.”
Responding to Lindsey’s accusations, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Independent: “Any allegations of ‘highly inhumane conditions’ at Alligator Alcatraz are FALSE. This is yet another attempt to smear ICE law enforcement who is already facing an 830 percent increase in assaults against them.
“Additionally, the facility is managed by the State of Florida through the Division of Emergency Management. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens.”
The Independent also contacted GardaWorld and the Florida Division of Emergency Management for comment.
Supporters of President Donald Trump warmly greeted the Alligator Alcatraz project when it was announced in June, cheerily buying up merchandise and delighting at the idea that would-be escapees would not be able to get far due to the perilous swampland surrounding the disused airfield on which it was built.
Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantistoured the facility last month and gave it their seal of approval. At the same time, other red states have toyed with opening their equivalent centers to support the president’s ICE-led illegal immigration crackdown.
Many detainees at the site have previously complained about the dire conditions, decrying the scarcity of food, lack of water for washing, and constant bright light depriving them of sleep.
