The state of Florida’s controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” withholding facility that holds federal immigration prisoners could be empty within a few days, according to state officials.
“We are likely to be down to 0 individuals within a few days,” says an e -mail on August 22 from the Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie obtained by Associated Press.
The recording came in a message sent to a rabbi in South Florida related to the delivery of chaplain services at the plant, which was quickly constructed on a closed training air strip. Rabbi’s performing assistant who sent the original E email to Guthrie confirmed its authenticity to AP.
The independent has contacted the Florida Division of Emergency Management for Comment.
Florida Governor Ron Desantis said at a press conference Wednesday that federal officials deported and transferred imprisoned from the facility.
“Our role is to give more room for treatment and detention leading to deportation,” the governor said. “We are not the ones who actually remove them from these facilities.”
The facility has capacity for about 2,000 detained, although state officials initially said they hoped to keep as many as twice as much as level to compensate for crowded retention facilities elsewhere.
The prison held about 900 people in mid -July, according to members of Congress who visited. The population fell to around 300 last week, according to a Florida congressman.
Last week, a federal judge who monitored an environmental case against alligator Alcatraz issued an order that stopped the expansion of the controversial facility and ordered officials to begin his closure, maintaining that the prisoner was expected to be out of the facility within 60 days, at which time Florida would begin to dismantle. The state has appealed.
“DHS complies with this order and moves imprisoned to other facilities,” the US Ministry of Homeland told the home country to The independent in a statement. “We will continue to fight tooth-and-nails to remove the worst of the worst from American streets.”
A July analysis found that among the more than 700 people held at the facility at that time, one-third had no criminal record, while 250 had immigration violations, typically considered civil offenses.
The prison center was built quickly two months ago at a slightly used, one-Runway training airport in the middle of the robust and remote Everglades. State officials have signed more than $ 245 million in contracts for the building and operation of the plant, which officially opened July 1st.
Earlier this month, the State of Florida announced plans to open another immigration withholding facility, this called “Deportation Depot” on site of a previous prison.