Watchdog: 'Alligator Alcatraz' Put Detainees in Small Metal Cages
Was this cruel abuse that shames the nation or a tough but necessary tool for deporting dangerous offenders?
Above: An entrance to the immigration detention center “Alligator Alcatraz”in Miami, on April 22. Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The Spin
Left narrative
Locking people in chain-link cages and tiny metal boxes with no daylight, no clock and no working bathrooms is unjust and illegal punishment. Detainees went weeks without medication, collapsed without support and lost contact with lawyers and family. Alligator Alcatraz crossed the line into abuse and deserves to be remembered as a stain on the country.
Right narrative
The outrage over a few short holds is manufactured. Records show the enclosures were used briefly, sometimes just for a few minutes, for people who refused to comply, and Florida's help let federal authorities detain and deport thousands of serious offenders who would otherwise be back in neighborhoods. Deportation is not supposed to be comfortable.
