Inside Donald Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ where detainees are ‘packed into cages’

They're contending with bug infestations, flooding and meagre meals

Currently detaining 900 individuals and capable of housing 2,100 more, this immigration detention facility is based inside Big Cypress National Preserve of the Everglades, hence its reptilian name.

The group, who were only allowed entry after filing a lawsuit, claim they heard prisoners crying for help amidst the choking heat and bug-infested living conditions.

"They are essentially packed into cages, wall-to-wall humans, 32 detainees per cage," said Debbie Wasserman Schultz during a post-tour news conference (per CNN).

Whilst taking the tour, the local lawmakers were not permitted a view of the populated cells, only the ones that aren't in use yet.

According to Schultz, each cage contained three mini toilets with sinks attached, and over in the kitchen, chefs prepared "grey turkey and cheese" sandwiches, plus an apple and crisps for the detainees while government staff were granted large chunks of roast chicken and sausages.

"I don't see how that could possibly sustain them nutritionally or not make them hungry. And when you have hungry people, obviously their mood changes," she pointed out.

Fellow tourist Maxwell Alejandro Frost voiced concerns over reports of unhygienic conditions due to non-functioning toilets too, with "faeces being spread everywhere".

The site's medical facilities were also out of bounds for these visitors, with officials citing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws.

Frost went on to comment: "It is something everyone, whether you're Democrat, Republican or anything, should be deeply ashamed of. Immigrants don't poison the blood of this nation. They are the blood of this nation."

Meanwhile, Darren Soto revealed that they'd even witnessed evidence of flooding, which raises major hurricane-related issues in the near future.

"What we saw in our inspection today was a political stunt, dangerous and wasteful," Soto shared.

"One can't help but understand and conclude that this is a total cruel political stunt meant to have a spectacle of political theater and it's wasting taxpayer dollars and putting our ICE agents, our troops and ICE detainees in jeopardy."

Homeland Security previously argued on social media that 'Alligator Alcatraz' boasts "higher detention standard than most US prisons that hold actual US citizens".