In a surprising and possibly unlawful act, five state legislators were denied entry Thursday into a taxpayer-funded migrant detention center deep in the Everglades, raising questions about what will happen behind the razor-wire fences that are being erected surrounding the controversial facility the state has named Alligator Alcatraz.
Armed only with state law and a growing list of humanitarian concerns, state Senators Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith, along with Representatives Anna V. Eskamani, Angie Nixon and Michele Rayner, arrived at the gates of the facility to conduct what they saw as a legally authorized inspection.
What they encountered instead was silence, locked doors and a bureaucratic wall. The state’s shifting justification for not letting them in — first a flat denial, then vague “safety concerns” — only fueled suspicions.
So, what is the actual law behind this? Who can enter where on what ground? For anyone familiar with the local law, this should be a super clear cut case, no? So “possibly unlawful” is a bit odd, where I rather think it is in fact lawful, otherwise they would be able to simply make the law that was broken.
No no, journalism doesn’t actually work like that. Nothing can ever be known, only intimated.
I mean, yes, real actual journalism works exactly like that but that’s not what we have. Because of the fascism.
“Small government” and “state’s rights” but somehow nobody from the state has any access to this federal facility being built in their state