U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) recently criticized "Alligator Alcatraz" during an appearance on MSNBC, claiming officials behind the illegal alien detention facility in the Everglades are deliberately looking to jail more people and "ethnically cleanse" certain groups of immigrants.
"They want more people behind bars. They want to incarcerate more people," Frost said. And they want to ethnically cleanse this country of certain types of immigrants."
After being announced by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on June 19, Alligator Alcatraz was built in just eight days and officially opened on July 1. Rep. Frost, a Gen Z progressive Democrat, described his recent visit to the facility as going to an "internment camp."
He also alluded that federal immigration officials were going after more brown immigrants, or people who looked like him, over other whiter groups. First elected to Congress in 2023, Frost's background includes Puerto Rican, Lebanese, and Haitian ancestry.
"Cause here's the thing, they're not going for every person that's here undocumented," Frost continued. "When I was in that internment camp in the Everglades, I didn't see any Europeans that overstayed their visa. I saw nothing but Latino men and Haitian men."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have become a tense issue in America under the Trump administration, including after recent crackdowns in Los Angeles. Intense altercations, along with polarizing rhetoric, have also put ICE agents in more danger.
"As we look at these operations going around the country, they are targeting specific types of people, and it's the type of people that look like me," Frost said.
Along with Frost, other Florida Democrats have criticized Alligator Alcatraz for its inhumane conditions. Florida Republicans, on the other hand, have praised the center as an efficient way to expedite illegal aliens out of the country.
In recent comments to The Floridian, Frost indicated he would like to see illegal migrants go through a "speedy" path to U.S. citizenship.
