7 d. ago Top Florida official says 'Alligator Alcatraz' will likely be empty within days, email shows

A top Florida official says the controversial state-run immigration detention facility in the Everglades will likely be empty in a matter of days, even as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration fights a federal judge’s order to shutter the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by a late October deadline

Politics

9 d. ago Who’s cashing in on Trump’s immigration crackdown? It’s not the American people nor the federal or state governments

Private contractors run many of ICE’s largest detention facilities. Now, with a push to deport more and more immigrants, these companies stand to win big under Trump. Alicja Hagopian reports.

Politics

1 week ago They donated millions to Trump — now, ICE detention providers are reaping the rewards

Private contractors run many of ICE’s largest detention facilities. Now, with a push to deport more and more immigrants, these companies stand to win big under Trump. Alicja Hagopian reports.

Politics

2 w. ago Thomas Edison and Henry Ford among the original snowbirds: The rich going to Florida for the winters

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford are famous for their innovations in electricity generation and automobiles respectively, but they were also at the forefront of a massively popular trend in Florida: Rich people from up north spending the cold winter months in the Sunshine State

Politics

3 w. ago DeSantis announces plans for second immigration detention facility in north Florida

Florida Republican Gov_ Ron DeSantis’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility at a state prison in north Florida, as a federal judge decides the fate of the state’s holding center for immigrants at an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Politics

3 w. ago Democrats say Trump is illegally blocking them from visiting Ice detention: ‘The goal is to bully us’

Confrontations are playing out nationwide as lawmakers conduct checks of facilities where thousands are being heldThe Arizona representative Yassamin Ansari toured a detention facility in May where immigrants rounded up as part of the Trump administration’s campaign of mass deportation were being housed. She described what she saw inside as “sickening” and “worse than prison” – immigrant detainees were held in overcrowded, moldy cells and many reported that they did not have reliable access to food, water or medical care.Two months later, Ansari returned to the remote desert complex to conduct another congressional oversight visit. This time, she was denied entry. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Tennessee town considers deal to turn closed prison into immigration detention facility

Officials in a rural Tennessee town are scheduled to meet to consider an agreement to turn a former state prison into an immigration detention facility operated by a private company

Events

3 w. ago Trump promised to be a dictator on day one. We’re now past day 200

Donald Trump’s second term has seen a sustained assault on democratic institutions – political, judicial, media, cultural, academic – that appears to be only accelerating The anger was raw and resolute. Speaking at the Republican congressman Mike Flood’s town hall in Lincoln, Nebraska, a woman pointed to the estimated $450m cost of “Alligator Alcatraz”, an immigration detention facility in Florida. “How much does it cost for fascism?” she demanded. “How much do the taxpayers have to pay for a fascist country?”The crowd erupted in applause and whoops. In the week that Donald Trump marked his 200th day in office, few mainstream political commentators are bandying around terms such as “fascist”. But many are warning of a societal march towards authoritarianism that, far from losing momentum, appears to be gathering pace. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Deeply troubling and suspicious circumstances’: Missing teen sent haunting text to mom before vanishing

Giovanni Pelletier, 18, was meeting his cousins for the first time in Englewood, Florida, when he vanished on August 1

Events