South Florida

Need to catch up on Alligator Alcatraz? What to know about the detention center

Stories by Miami Herald journalists, with AI summarization

Learn more about Alligator Alcatraz through these earlier articles from the Miami Herald archives as the detention center was being built and opened.

NO. 1: ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE EVERGLADES DETENTION CAMP

Florida’s decision to build a massive detention facility for undocumented immigrants in the middle of the Everglades is fast becoming one of the most controversial symbols of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. | Published June 24, 2025 | Read Full Story by Antonio Maria Delgado

Un niño refugiado del Mariel montado en un triciclo recorre la “ciudad de las carpas”, con downtown Miami en el fondo.

NO. 2: MIAMI-DADE’S IMMIGRANT PAST: FROM THE MARIEL TENT CITY TO ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ | OPINION

A new detention center in the Everglades revives old fears — but without the compassion that once defined Miami’s response to refugees. | Opinion | Published July 1, 2025 | Read Full Story by the Miami Herald Editorial Board

El presidente Donald Trump junto con el gobernador de Florida Ron DeSantis recorren un centro de detención de inmigrantes, “Alligator Alcatraz”, en el Aeropuerto de Entrenamiento y Transición Dade-Collier en Ochopee el 1º de julio. By ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS

NO. 3: CONTRACTORS BUILDING ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ HAVE DONATED MONEY TO FLORIDA GOP, DESANTIS

The companies and their married chief executives, Carlos Duart and Tina Vidal-Duart, have given a total of $1.9 million to the two state political action committees supporting DeSantis’ bids for governor and to the Republican Party of Florida. | Published July 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Alexandra Glorioso Romy Ellenbogen Lawrence Mower

Florida state Sen. Carlos G. Smith and fellow lawmakers speak to the media before being denied entry into Alligator Alcatraz, the state immigration detention facility in the Everglades, on Thursday, July 3, 2025. By PHOTO BY AL DIAZ

NO. 4: ‘WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?’ FLORIDA LAWMAKERS SHUT OUT OF ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ

In a surprising and possibly unlawful act, five state legislators were denied entry Thursday into a taxpayer-funded migrant detention center deep in the Everglades, raising questions about what will happen behind the razor-wire fences that are being erected surrounding the controversial facility the state has named Alligator Alcatraz.Armed only with state law and a growing list of humanitarian concerns, state Senators Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith, along with Representatives Anna V. | Published July 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Antonio Maria Delgado

Aerial view of structures including gigantic tents built at the recently opened migrant detention center, “Alligator Alcatraz,” located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida on Friday July 04, 2025. By Pedro Portal

NO. 5: GIANT BUGS, HEAT AND A HOSPITAL VISIT: INSIDE ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’S FIRST DAYS

Concerns about conditions for detainees were heightened when one was rushed out of the detention center Monday in an ambulance. | Published July 8, 2025 | Read Full Story by Ana Ceballos Alex Harris Claire Healy

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.