The U.S. Government Denies Hunger Strike at Alligator Alcatraz

Miami (USA), (EFE).— The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday denied that migrants at the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center have been on a hunger strike for nearly two weeks, as claimed by Florida activists.

“Fake news. There is no hunger strike at Alligator Alcatraz,” DHS posted on social media about the facility, which has a capacity to hold 2,000 people and is located in the middle of the Everglades—a natural area surrounded by alligators and swamps west of Miami.

The Department denied media reports about an alleged hunger strike started around 12 days ago by migrants—particularly of Cuban nationality—to protest alleged abuses taking place at the site.

Activists from the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), who have documented at least six hospitalizations since the center opened on July 3, reported the arrival of ambulances at the facility on Sunday while they were holding an interfaith vigil calling for its closure.

“These false accusations about detention centers denigrate our brave ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents, who are already facing an 830% increase in attacks against them,” DHS said.

Families and civil organizations have accused the center of violating the human rights of detainees at Alligator Alcatraz, citing medical neglect, lack of access to legal representation, shackling detainees hand and foot, locking them in cages, and detaining individuals with no criminal background.

However, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the facility in a CBS interview on Monday, calling it a “model” for future detention centers set to open in the coming months, with Arizona, Nebraska, and Louisiana mentioned as potential sites.

Judges requested information about Alligator Alcatraz last week as two separate lawsuits against the facility move forward—one by immigration advocates led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and another by environmentalists Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.