TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A woman who worked at “Crocodile Alcatraz” shared her experience at a controversial immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades.
This comes amid protests from detainees, their families and supporters. They argue that people detained there are overcrowding, facing food and bathroom issues and lack of access to lawyers.
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The worker requested that she and her family be identified only by her name, Lindsay, for fear that she and her family would face harassment, as they proceed with allegations of “inhumanity” status.
Lindsey provided NBC affiliate WTVJ with documentation that includes Florida credentials and contracts with security companies. The contract comes with Gardaworld Federal Services, who was awarded a nearly $38 million contract related to the facility’s staffing services, and her qualification cited her status as “modification officer.”
“When I got there, it was overwhelming,” Lindsay told WTVJ. “I thought it would improve, but I never did.”
She knew she would report to Crocodile Alcatraz, who lives in the shared trailer, but said she wasn’t entirely prepared for what she was walking.
“We had to use Portajon. There was no hot water for half the time. The bathroom was backed up,” Lindsay told WTVJ.
She explained the conditions under which detainees are held, saying it looked like an “oversized kennel.” According to Lindsey, each tent has eight of these cages, each holding more than 35 people. That is, each tent has hundreds of detainees.
“They don’t have sunlight. They don’t have clocks there. They don’t even know what time it is. They don’t have the shower. They shower every other day, or every four days,” Lindsay told WTVJ. “The bathroom is backed up.
Lindsay said water from the storm and surrounding marsh was pouring into the tents, causing a constant battle with mosquitoes.
“Not everyone has criminals,” Lindsay told WTVJ. “These people are still human. They pulled them out of their livelihoods. They’re scary. They don’t speak our language.”
NBC News has asked Florida for a list of people detained at Alligator Alcatraz, but has not received it. A Human Rights Watch report released last month revealed that 72% of people detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) had no criminal history.
Lindsay said he was fired from the facility after signing with Covid and accused of changing medical documents. She denied the allegations and said that while she was angry at being fired, she was also allegedly a sighting at Alligator Alcatraz.
“I’ve been fired. Yeah, I’m mad. But like they’re wrong, it’s more than ever,” Lindsay told WTVJ.
In addition to losing her job, Lindsay said she was not paid for her work at the facility. Guardaworld did not answer questions when contacted for comments by WTVJ and referred the outlet to state authorities.
WTVJ also contacted the Florida Emergency Management Department, but received no response. State officials have previously denied allegations of Alligator Alcatraz’s poor condition.
