In a dramatic legal move that’s already sending shockwaves through Florida’s political circles, five state lawmakers have filed a lawsuit against Governor Ron DeSantis and state emergency officials after they were illegally denied access to the controversial new immigrant detention center nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The center—rapidly constructed in just eight days at the remote Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Everglades—was built using $450 million in Florida taxpayer money. Despite being a state-run facility, lawmakers say they were blocked from exercising their legal right to inspect it unannounced, as outlined in Florida law.
The July 3 incident, where law enforcement physically prevented entry, sparked the lawsuit filed July 10 with Florida’s Supreme Court. The petition was brought by State Senators Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith, and State Representatives Anna Eskamani, Angie Nixon, and Michele Rayner—all vocal critics of the DeSantis administration’s immigrant detention policies.
“This isn’t just about transparency,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “It’s about whether the Governor can unilaterally block oversight from a co-equal branch of government. The law is clear—legislators have the right to unannounced inspections. What happened on July 3 was illegal.”
They didn’t hold back when describing what they believe is happening inside the facility, calling it a “modern-day concentration camp” built in a flood-prone zone, where detained immigrants face harsh, isolated conditions with little to no oversight.
Adding to the historic weight of the case, the lawsuit was filed by Bracy Davis, Gantt & Rayner, P.A., the first law firm in U.S. history founded by sitting Black women legislators—Attorneys Ashley V. Gantt and LaVon Bracy Davis—who are also state lawmakers.
The legal filing argues that both Governor DeSantis and Kevin Guthrie, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, violated the Florida Constitution and state law, including clear statutes that give legislators the right to inspect detention facilities at their discretion. Specifically, the lawmakers cited Florida Statutes §§ 944.23 and 951.225, which allow members of the Legislature to conduct unannounced visits to any state-run detention site “at their pleasure.”
Despite the lawsuit, the Florida Division of Emergency Management has since announced a highly controlled, scripted tour of the facility this Saturday. The lawmakers said they’ll attend—but they’re making it clear that a walk-through filled with staged scenes and PR talking points does not count as true oversight.
“This tour is not about transparency—it’s about containment,” they said. “The people detained inside deserve more than a photo op.”
The lawsuit is the latest clash in what many are calling a pattern of executive overreach by the DeSantis administration, especially as it relates to immigration and emergency powers. Just one day before the lawsuit was filed, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down another DeSantis-backed policy that attempted to criminalize undocumented immigrants in Florida.
With immigration policy, civil rights, and government accountability on the line, this lawsuit is one to watch—and it could set a major legal precedent not just in Florida, but nationwide.
Read the full lawsuit here: View the filing
Stay with Hy-Lo News for updates on this developing story.
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