Detention center in Florida has drawn protests over plans to house up to 5,000 illegal immigrants
The newly-opened Florida detention facility housing illegal immigrants known as “Alligator Alcatraz” has drawn both praise and protest.
President Donald Trump visited the detention center in the Florida Everglades on Tuesday, along with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials for a tour that officials hoped could spur other states to open similar facilities.
Built by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in just a matter of days, “Alligator Alcatraz” — named for its surrounding swamps teeming with alligators and pythons — received its first detainees this week, according to The Associated Press.
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While the detention center can currently house 3,000 people in dormitories corralled by chain-link fences topped with barbed wire, state officials say it can be expanded to ultimately house 5,000 people.
Protesters have decried the facility as an inhumane makeshift prison camp, but supporters have embraced it as an “innovative” and “cost-effective” way for the federal government to scale enough detention space to carry out Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Sharayah Colter, chief communications officer at The Danbury Institute, a nonpartisan association of Evangelical churches based in Dallas, Texas, says while the controversy over the facility is likely to continue, Evangelicals and other Christians “should support earnest efforts to secure the nation and to uphold law and order.”
When “non-citizens are lured to cross the border illegally” and “undertake a dangerous journey which they may not survive,” women and children risk being raped, killed or taken into human trafficking rings, Colter said. But beyond public safety and security, Colter said allowing people to continue to illegally enter the country could fuel further lawlessness.
“People inside and outside of America are taught by the actions of the nation that our laws are impotent,” she added. “It is wrong to convey to people that it is OK to break the law since Scripture calls people to obey the laws of the land so far as they do not cause a person to break God’s law. When a nation passes laws, the righteous thing to do is to uphold and enforce those laws. To act otherwise is both wrong and cruel.”
While protesters have voiced concerns over the detention facility due to its potential environmental impact and detainment of illegal immigrants, Colter said Christians can show compassion while still supporting those who uphold the law.
“Christians can love all people they encounter and work to share the Good News with all they encounter while still upholding the nation’s laws, advocating for secure borders that protect innocent life, and desiring a safe immigration process for those willing to enter the nation through legal routes,” she added.
Far from being Florida’s only such facility, “Alligator Alcatraz” has spurred plans for another makeshift detention center for illegal migrants in northeast Florida at a National Guard training facility called Camp Blanding, about 30 miles southwest of Jacksonville. DeSantis said contractor bidding for that site is already underway, and construction is expected to begin after the Fourth of July holiday.
During his visit to “Alligator Alcatraz” on Tuesday, the president signaled he was open to the possibility of investigating and arresting former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of the U.S. southern border under the Biden administration.
When asked why Mayorkas has yet to be arrested or held accountable, Trump asked if Mayorkas had been preemptively pardoned, like members of the U.S. House Select Committee on Jan. 6.
Upon learning Mayorkas received no such pardon, Trump said, “Well, I’d take a look at that because what he did was — it’s beyond incompetence. Something had to be done.” Trump went on to acknowledge that Mayorkas was acting on the orders of those above him, but noted he believes that is no excuse.
