Opinion. The Miccosukee Tribe has lived in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve since time immemorial. Today, 640 tribal members still call the Everglades home.

Republicans get to own the libs, look tough on immigration; Dems courageously risk nationwide TV exposure with abortive inspection mission

Newsweek spoke with the attorney of a detainee and the friend of another. Both described harrowing conditions at the remote facility.

But data and news reports about the first month’s arrivals show the majority of Alligator Alcatraz’s detainees do not have U.S. criminal convictions.  President Donald Trump, federal officials and Florida Republicans touted the remote Everglades immigration detention centers — dubbed Alligator Alcatraz — as a place to detain people deemed the "worst of the worst.

The big complex out in the Everglades has plenty of beds, and it’s certainly meant to be a short-term stopover, but it’s no Holiday Inn.

It seems that the DeSantis administration just pulled more than a dozen contracts tied to the Everglades Immigration Detention facility from a public database of state contracts. These contracts total more than $200 million in taxpayer spending, and they are public records.