Written by Kate Payne
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Despite the protests of Native American leaders who view the region as their sacred ancestral homelands, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration is moving quickly to build a temporary immigration detention facility near an Everglades airport.
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Activist Jessica Namath, who observed the activity, said a line of portable generators and dump trucks filled with fill dirt poured into the site on Thursday. A compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers, and other temporary structures is being constructed by the state at the Miami Dade County-owned airstrip, which is situated in the Big Cypress National Preserve around 45 miles west of downtown Miami.
Requests for comment were not answered by a representative of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is assisting in the project’s leadership.
According to state officials, the location is perfect for housing refugees because it is home to only pythons and alligators.
That is disputed by indigenous leaders, who are denouncing the state’s intentions to construct what has been called Alligator Alcatraz on their ancestral lands. Native Americans have been in the region for thousands of years.
Native peoples that now comprise the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma have lived in the expansive wetlands of what is now South Florida for many generations.
The Big Cypress is the Tribe’s traditional habitat, not the desolate wasteland where pythons and alligators roam, as some have claimed. According to a social media message by Miccosukee Chairman Talbert Cypress, the Miccosukee and Seminole people have been safeguarded by the landscape for many years.
In 2024, Cypress testified before Congress that there are still 15 traditional Miccosukee and Seminole towns in Big Cypress, along with burial and ceremonial grounds and other gathering places.
This is where we reside. Here, our forebears fought and lost their lives. He said, “They’re buried here.” We are a part of the Big Cypress, and it is a part of us.
According to Garrett Stuart, who lives roughly three miles away from the location, Big Cypress’s pristine lakes, expansive plains, and verdant tree islands are teaming with life.
You know, listening to the frogs in the water arguing? Additionally, hear the alligator grunt. He remarked, “You’re listening to the crows conversing and hearing the call of that osprey flying by.” It’s all simply amazing.
DeSantis and other state officials have defended the detention facility as part of Florida’s muscular efforts to carry out President Donald Trump’s simmigration crackdown, while critics have denounced it as a cruel spectacle and the state’s apparent reliance on alligators as a security measure.
Stuart replied that only someone who has never been in the swamp would ever think that alligators and pythons should be the security guards. They are terrified of people.
In order to provide site security, staff augmentation, and other support as needed, the Florida National Guard is getting ready to deploy up to 100 soldiers to the facility on July 1.
Given the dynamic nature of the situation, we do not have a defined timeframe for this assignment; nevertheless, we will remain on the ground for as long as necessary and at Governor DeSantis’ discretion. Brittianie Funderburk, a spokesperson for the Guard, said in a statement.
Environmentalists and tribal leaders are calling on the state to reverse its course, pointing out that plans to house about 1,000 migrants at the site for an indefinite period of time threaten the billions of dollars in federal and state funds that have been invested in Everglades restoration in recent years.
In order to demonstrate why the location is sacred and ought to be preserved rather than demolished, indigenous leaders and activists will to assemble at the location once more on Saturday.
In times of conflict, this location served as our haven. In a social media post announcing the protest, Miccosukee leader Betty Osceola stated, “It gives us a place to continue our culture and traditions.”
She went on to say that we must preserve it for our future generations.
The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative is where Kate Payne is a corps member.A nonprofit national service initiative called Report for America places reporters in local newsrooms to explore topics that aren’t often covered.
