Alligator Alcatraz Was Built on Secrecy, Expansive Emergency Powers, and an Unprecedented State Power Grab
Shadowy deals and unilateral powers created Florida's notorious immigration detention camp.
Florida
Why Did a Florida Sheriff Accuse a Group of Fishing Guides of Inciting Threats Against Public Officials?
The Hendry County Sheriff accused Captains for Clean Water of "fuel[ing] hostility and provok[ng] violent rhetoric," but a free speech advocacy group says they were well within the First Amendment.
Florida's State-Run Immigration Detention Centers Omit Hundreds of Detainees from Federal Tracking
Individuals housed at state-run immigration detention centers frequently don’t show up in the online detainee locator system, making it hard for their family and their lawyer to find them.
Florida Applies for Federal Reimbursement for 'Alligator Alcatraz' Costs Despite Court Warning
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised that the federal government would reimburse the state for the costs of "Alligator Alcatraz," but doing so would make the detention facility subject to environmental reviews Florida ignored.
Florida's Ban on Openly Carrying Guns Is Unconstitutional, State Appeals Court Rules
A unanimous three-judge panel concluded that "no historical tradition supports" the 1987 law.
Florida Deputies Jailed Her for 3 Days Even Though She Was Obviously Not the Suspect Described in a Warrant
A federal judge cleared the way for Jennifer Heath Box's lawsuit against the cops who misidentified her as a fugitive, despite a "mountain of evidence" that they had the wrong woman.
Florida Gets Closer To Being a 'Free State' With Plan To End School Vaccine Mandate
Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo proposed ending the requirement that public school children be vaccinated, calling the mandate "slavery."
The New Texas Ban on Cell-Cultured Protein Is an Unconstitutional Interstate Trade Barrier, a Lawsuit Says
The ban's supporters, whose motivation is plainly protectionist, claim they are defending freedom by restricting it.
Florida Boy Walked to Chick-Fil-A Alone. Police Returned Him Home and Didn't Arrest His Parents.
Five-year-old William woke early and snuck out for Chick-n-Minis. When cops were called, they spared the boy’s parents, breaking from their all-too-common habit of arresting and charging parents with neglect.
Raw Milk Debates Are Turning Sour in Florida
Florida officials can’t agree on whether unpasteurized milk is a health threat or benefit, leaving consumers more confused than if they were left to decide for themselves.
The 11th Circuit Revives a Constitutional Challenge to the Federal Law That Disarms Medical Marijuana Patients
The appeals court concluded that the government had failed to show that policy is consistent with "this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."
Judge Orders Alligator Alcatraz To Wind Down Operations Within 60 Days
A federal district court judge granted environmentalist groups’ request for a preliminary injunction.
6 U.S. Travel Destinations in the Middle of Nowhere
From under the sea to the Rocky Mountains.
A Terrible Environmental Law Finally Did Something Good: It Paused Construction of Alligator Alcatraz
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against any additional construction at the immigration detention center amid plans to increase the facility’s capacity to 4,000 detainees.
Woman Who Died of Heart Disease in ICE Custody Reportedly Told Son She Wasn't Allowed to See Doctor for Chest Pains
Questions about the death of Marie Blaise at a South Florida ICE detention center have lingered since she collapsed in April.
This U.S. Citizen Recorded an Immigration Arrest. Officers Told Him To Delete It or Face Charges.
The peaceful traffic stop in Florida turned violent after immigration officers arrived and used chokeholds and a stun gun to make arrests.
'Alligator Alcatraz' Contracts Disappeared From a Florida State Database
A state official says the contracts contained "proprietary information," so they were scrubbed and replaced with bare-bones summaries.
Report Alleges Degrading Treatment and Medical Neglect at South Florida ICE Detention Centers
One former ICE detainee says he and a group of men were forced to kneel with their hands tied behind their backs and eat "like dogs."
'Alligator Alcatraz' Detainees Say in New Lawsuit They're Being Denied Access to Their Attorneys
The lawsuit says attorneys have been repeatedly turned away from the detention camp and had virtual meetings mysteriously canceled.
Lawyers and Families Report Squalid Conditions and Lack of Legal Access at Alligator Alcatraz
Numerous accounts of lack of showers, overflowing toilets, and inability to meet with lawyers are emerging from the detention center in the middle of the Everglades.
Immigrant Rights Group Says Its Billboards Opposing Alligator Alcatraz Were Taken Down Under Political Pressure
The Florida Immigrant Coalition's new billboards were restored less than a day after being taken down, but why were they removed in the first place?
The Original Alcatraz Closed for Costing Too Much. Alligator Alcatraz Should Too.
Florida’s elected officials should learn from the original facility that inspired the state’s newest immigrant detention center's name, and change course before it’s too late.
Hundreds of 'Alligator Alcatraz' Detainees Don't Have Criminal Records
Trump said the prison camp would hold "some of the most vicious people on the planet," but a list obtained by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Tribune shows otherwise.
The Decentralized Master Planning of Seaside, Florida
The city where The Truman Show was filmed balances communal norms with private preferences.
Leaked Documents Show 'Alligator Alcatraz' Could Cost Over $600 Million
More questions arise over how Florida’s newest immigration detention center is being funded by the Trump administration.
The Everglades Jetport Was Supposed To Be a World Wonder. Now It's 'Alligator Alcatraz.'
Our dreams have fallen from supersonic world travel to jailing migrants who've hurt no one.
Florida Plans To Deputize 9 National Guardsmen as Immigration Judges To Increase Deportations
Legal experts are concerned that immigration judges with only six weeks of training will not uphold constitutional protections for migrants.
Trump Visits $450 Million 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Suggests Taxpayers Should Fund More of Them
Only eight days after construction began, Florida’s new immigration detention center in the Everglades is set to officially open this week.
10 of the Worst State Laws Going Into Effect in July
From minimum wage hikes to bans on cellphones in public schools, here are some of the most ridiculous ways state governments are interfering with Americans’ lives.
Judge Dismisses Case Against Trans Woman Who Tried To Challenge Florida's Bathroom Law
Marcy Rheintgen was the first person to be arrested for trying to challenge Florida's bathroom bill. The case against her has been tossed out.
Trump Administration Will Help Fund Florida's $450 Million 'Alligator Alcatraz' and Other Migrant Detention Facilities
The Florida attorney general stated that the facilities will add 5,000 beds and be operational as early as the first week of July.
Florida Proposes 'Alligator Alcatraz' to House Detained Migrants and Speed Up Deportations
Florida's attorney general proposed using a 30-square-mile part of the Everglades to house, process, and deport detained migrants.
Florida Used a Nationwide Surveillance Camera Network 250 Times To Aid in Immigration Arrests
Flock Safety’s 40,000 cameras present in over 5,000 communities across the U.S. are being used to detain undocumented immigrants, many of whom have no criminal history.
Florida Woman Fined $165,000 for Trivial Code Violations Takes Her Case to the Florida Supreme Court
Sandy Martinez was fined for a parking violation on her own property, driveway cracks, and a storm-damaged fence.
Ex–Hialeah Police Chief Arrested for Skimming at Least $600,000 in Cash From Drug Funds
State investigators say millions went missing from two narcotics funds controlled by former Hialeah Police Chief Sergio Velazquez, including seized cash from drug investigations.
Civil Rights Groups Say Immigrants Are Being Denied Legal Access at Detention Centers
Reason confirmed reports of dysfunction and violence at one of those detention centers earlier this week.
Trump Rightly Pardons 2 Florida Divers Who Became Federal Felons Because of an Honest Mistake
John Moore and Tanner Mansell were convicted of theft after they freed sharks they erroneously thought had been caught illegally.
Overcrowding and Dysfunction Produced a Quiet Riot at a Miami Federal Prison Holding ICE Detainees
Half the elevators at Federal Detention Center Miami are broken. Immigrant detainees are kept on lockdown, and lawyers can barely reach their clients.
ICE Helps Round Up Sex Workers in Florida
In Operation Fool Around and Find Out, 244 "human trafficking" arrests, but no human trafficking.
Miami Beach Homeless Arrests Spiked in February Under Anticamping Law
During one week in February, arrests of homeless people accounted for 66 percent of all arrests in Miami Beach.
Trump's Tariffs and Immigration Policies Destroy Thousands of Acres of Tomato Crops in Florida
“Between the cost of labor and the inputs that goes in, it’s more cost-effective for farmers” to plow over ripe tomatoes, said one expert.
The Microschool Revolution Is Just Getting Started
Microschools are giving educators the freedom to innovate. Regulators need to get out of the way.
How Florida Law Makes Gator Encounters More Dangerous
Protections apply even when the animal is on your property and getting closer.
A Federal Judge Greenlights a Lawsuit That Claims Florida's Ban on Lab-Grown Meat Is Unconstitutional
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker says Upside Foods has plausibly alleged that the law's protectionism violates the "dormant" Commerce Clause.
