For Immediate Release July 6, 2025 by Florida NOW

Orlando, FL — The Florida National Organization for Women (FL NOW) joins the chorus of Indigenous leaders, environmental advocates, and human rights defenders in condemning the construction of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention facility in Big Cypress National Preserve.

“This is not immigration policy—it’s ecological violence and institutionalized cruelty,” said Julie Kent, President of FL NOW. “Governor DeSantis is turning sacred land into a prison camp. These people are not criminals and need due process. Women, children, and families will pay the price. Using the name Alcatraz to name this place is likening this to a horrible prison. It reflects the expected human rights abuses the U.S. has long abhorred and protested. Alligator Alcatraz involves many of FL NOW pillar issues like Reproductive Rights, Racial Justice, Ending Violence Against Women.”

The facility, built on a former airstrip surrounded by 96% wetlands, is being fast-tracked under emergency powers without environmental review or public input. It borders sacred Miccosukee and Seminole lands showing disregard for Indigenous culture.  It threatens endangered species like the Florida panther with a marked disregard for the environment and the welfare of local Floridians.  This facility is expected to detain up to 5,000 people in tents and trailers under extreme weather conditions.

FL NOW condemns this project on four urgent fronts:

• Reproductive and Gender Justice: Detained women face heightened risks of abuse, medical neglect, and reproductive coercion in ICE custody. “Alligator Alcatraz” will only deepen these harms.
• Environmental Harm: The Everglades are not expendable. Building a detention center in one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems is a direct attack on environmental justice.
• Indigenous Sovereignty: The proximity to Indigenous population increases their risk for communicable disease, water contamination, and related health effects from a concentrated population. The sacred nature of the surrounding areas is finished by this use of the airstrip.
• Democratic Erosion: By bypassing public hearings and legal safeguards, Florida is silencing communities and consolidating unchecked power under the guise of “emergency.”

“This is a test run for authoritarianism,” Debbie Deland FL NOW Vice President warned. “We must stop it before it becomes a blueprint.”

FL NOW calls for an immediate halt to construction, a full environmental evaluation, and a human rights review for this project in keeping with Florida law. We are aghast at those fast tracking this humanitarian and ecological disaster.

#StopAlligatorAlcatraz #ProtectTheEverglades #JusticeForAll

Contact: Debbie Deland, FL NOW VP, 407 234-6408, dcdeland@att.net