People Will Die at Alligator Alcatraz

Alligator Alcatraz, the immigration detention center that opened July 3 at a remote abandoned airstrip in Florida's Everglades, is the centerpiece of Governor Ron DeSantis' plan to be a "force multiplier" for President Donald Trump's mass deportation plan. The facility has a capacity of 1,000 beds—with plans to raise that to 4,000—costing $245 per bed per day, for an estimated cost of $450 million per year.

Detainees who have managed to communicate with family, friends, and lawyers report appalling conditions. Insufficient and contaminated water. Inadequate, spoiled food. Ignored requests for medical care. Swarms of mosquitoes. Unbearably hot tents that leak when it rains. Severe overcrowding. Facility personnel who berate and threaten them. We have studied immigration detention for over a decade and can say with grim certainty that it's just a matter of time until someone dies at Alligator Alcatraz.