July 5 (UPI) -- Five Florida state Democrat lawmakers on Thursday were denied access to the state's newly opened "migrant" detention facility that has been dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz."
State Representatives Michele Rayner, Anna Eskamani and Angie Nixon and Senators Carlos Guillermo Smith and Shevrin Jones were turned away while attempting to tour the facility, The Hill reported.
State law enforcement officers from several agencies stopped the lawmakers from entering the facility after showing up for an unannounced inspection of the facility that President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis toured on Tuesday and before detainees arrived there.
Safety concerns cited
Eskamani said they were told they could not tour the facility due to "safety concerns," CNN reported.
"If it's unsafe for us, how is it safe for the detainees?" Eskamani said she asked the general counsel for the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
The Florida lawmakers said they have the legal authority to inspect the detention facility.
"Florida law gives legislators the authority to make unannounced visits to state-run facilities," Jones said in a post on X made on Thursday afternoon.
Jones said the group went to the detention facility "to inspect conditions and check on the well-being of the people inside."
A group statement issued on Thursday accuses state officials of a "blatant abuse of power and an attempt to conceal human rights violations from the public eye."
The facility received its first 500 detainees midweek and eventually will be capable of holding up to 3,000 detainees while undergoing deportation proceedings.
Not a federal facility
The detention facility is located in the Everglades along U.S. 41, about 70 miles west of Miami.
A local airport previously occupied the site, which Florida officials converted into a detention facility in eight days, DeSantis said while touring it with Trump on Tuesday.
Although Trump toured it, the facility is not a federal operation.
"The Department of Homeland Security has not implemented, authorized, directed or funded Florida's temporary detention center," DHS attorneys said in a court filing made on Thursday, the Miami Herald reported.
The filing is in response to a lawsuit challenging the detention facility's purpose, which prompted the Department of Justice to defend its existence.
The DOJ "has defended President Trump's immigration agenda in court since day one and we are proud to protect 'Alligator Alcatraz' from baseless, politically motivated legal schemes," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Florida officials are considering adding two more such facilities to help hold and process detainees who are undergoing deportation proceedings.
The Department of Defense is deploying 200 Marines to Florida to assist with logistical and administrative support.
