Democrats Smear ICE Facility As “Concentration Camp” to Defend Open Borders

In their latest tone-deaf display of left-wing radicalism, Democrats have taken to comparing Florida’s new 3,000-bed ICE detention facility – dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” – to a “concentration camp.” That description is not only dead wrong on the facts, it is yet another example of why the liberal party is polling at record lows with the American people.

The first detainees began arriving at the new facility last week despite loud protests from Democrats and left-wing activists. As AMAC Newsline previously reported, Alligator Alcatraz is located on about 30 square miles of land on an old air strip northeast of Miami in the middle of the Everglades. Under the direction of state Attorney General James Uthmeier, Florida completed the facility in record time to deal with the influx of illegal aliens from the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.

In keeping with Democrats’ favorite tactic of likening everything they don’t agree with to Nazi Germany, it didn’t take long for many on the left to begin comparing the new facility to concentration camps.

One reporter out of Colorado equated Alligator Alcatraz to Auschwitz. A Democrat Florida Representative called it a modern day concentration camp. The hashtag #AlligatorAuschwitz is trending on X. Andrea Pitzer, a famous author who wrote a book about the history of concentration camps around the world, also ascribed that label to Alligator Alcatraz.

But Pitzer – and the rest of the liberals now blatantly fearmongering over the ICE facility – should know better. In case they need a reminder, the Nazi concentration camps were the site of one of the most horrific genocides in world history. They were used to imprison millions of Jews and other “undesirables” who were subject to barbaric torture, medical experimentation, and mass killings.

That’s a far cry from what the arrivals at Alligator Alcatraz experience. Unlike concentration camps, the facility – along with every other ICE detention center – is a temporary holding location to process illegal aliens and remove them from the country. The people being temporarily housed there broke the law. The federal government, in conjunction with the state of Florida, is using Alligator Alcatraz to enforce the law and punish offenders.

There is no torture, violence, or mass extermination happening at Alligator Alcatraz or any ICE detention centers in operation.

“But,” Democrats cry, “look at the living conditions! Cots and barracks-style sleeping quarters!” Yes – just like members of our military around the world sleep on every day. When someone breaks our immigration laws and violates American sovereignty, they should not expect luxury accommodations.

Other liberal scaremongers have alleged that detainees will surely die in the Florida heat or succumb to the unsanitary conditions.

But, contrary to internet rumors, Alligator Alcatraz is air conditioned. Utilities like water, sewer, and power are provided by mobile equipment, according to Governor DeSantis’s office. The State of Florida has created evacuation plans in the case of hurricanes or flooding to ensure the health and safety of detainees. State officials say the complex can withstand a Category 2 hurricane, which packs winds of between 96 and 110 mph, and that contractors have worked to shore up areas where flooding could occur.

Others on the left have claimed that the detention facility could harm the environment in the Everglades. But the airstrip and development for the project were already there – is adding a few tents and mobile air conditioning units really going to do any more damage? Moreover, the state of Florida has spent $6.5 billion restoring the Everglades since DeSantis took office.

Most of those on the left making the concentration camp comparisons know better. No serious person can believe that detaining illegal aliens, many of them with criminal records, in order to remove them from the country is akin to the mass slaughter of the innocent.

But for Democrats, the facts and basic reason can never get in the way of their open borders agenda. The Trump administration could put illegal aliens up in 5-star hotels (as the Biden administration did) and the left would still claim some great injustice is occurring.

To Democrats, it isn’t about the facility, it’s about the deportations. Last fall, 158 Democrats in Congress voted against deporting illegal aliens who had committed sex crimes. Just last week, 160 Democrats in Congress voted against deporting illegal aliens who were convicted of or admitted to driving under the influence.

But try as they might to demonize Alligator Alcatraz and every other deportation action, Democrats are simply out of touch with the public. A June CBS Poll showed that 54 percent of Americans approve of the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal aliens.

Alligator Alcatraz is not a concentration camp. It’s a facility designed to carry out popular immigration policies to make America safer and stronger. In their desperation to defend open borders, Democrats have abandoned truth, reason, and the will of the American people – and no amount of fearmongering will change that.

Jordan Hess, a native of Utah, holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s from George Washington University in political management. He gained Capitol Hill experience working in the US Senate for four years and at The Heritage Foundation for three. He currently resides in Utah doing government affairs work and is actively involved in political campaigns.