The Moral Depravity of Alligator Alcatraz

(Homeland Security Thinks This is Cute)

“Alligator Alcatraz” is the very definition of moral depravity, an immigrant “detention center” (some critics would say “concentration camp”) created by the current federal government regime in cooperation with the remarkably cruel state government of Florida.  In a remote section of the Everglades, the hastily-constructed prison for immigrants is surrounded by the natural habitat of some large, lovely but very dangerous predators — alligators and crocodiles to name but two, along with poisonous snakes, pythons, bobcats, panthers and possibly the most dangerous wild thing of all, tiny mosquitos carrying the potential for grave disease.

Already, some detainees are reporting grossly inhumane conditions inside the camp while officials of the current administration gloat about the likelihood of alligators eating anyone who tries to escape.

Sadly typical of American entrepreneurism, they’re even selling merchandise — hats, t-shirts, mugs — touting this cruel and inhumane theme park for human beings whose major offense was trying to flee violence and poverty in their home countries.

The detainees are largely people who have recently been snatched from streets by masked federal agents, rounded-up at their job sites like Home Depot and other places that employ immigrants at low wages, treated like cattle as they are herded to detention centers to await deportation back to the places they fled, or worse, to places they never lived that are havens of violence (see: South Sudan).  Federal officials claim that the detainees are violent criminals, but while some are, many have committed no crimes.  And regardless of criminal records, the United States must treat every person with respect, humanity and due process — all of which are lacking in the current administration’s heinous roundup of immigrants.  It’s also notable that while most detainees are undocumented immigrants, some are also legal residents who are swept up in the anti-immigrant mania of the current administration.

If any other nation created such a horrific prison, the U.S. would be swift to condemn the barbaric intentions of the regime.  So it should be in our own country.  Regardless of political affiliation, citizens of the United States should be universally horrified by this descent into moral depravity by the current administration.  Regardless of whether “Alligator Alcatraz” is really a detention center or merely a prop in the ongoing performative politics of the current White House, every citizen who believes in the fundamental American values of freedom and justice should demand an immediate end to this circus of cruelty and human degradation.

Everyone who claims to be “pro-life” should immediately condemn this blatant assault on human life and dignity.

To their credit, the U.S. Catholic Bishops have consistently opposed the mass deportation initiatives of the current administration.  Pope Leo XIV has consistently advocated for the right of migrants to be treated humanely.

While the human life impact of “Alligator Alcatraz” is the priority concern, the detention center also raises important questions about environmental degradation in that area.  As well, the native American tribes that inhabit part of the Everglades (Miccosukee, Seminole) have objected vehemently to the facility.

On a personal note, I have visited the Everglades and the Big Cypress Reserve on various occasions when I am in Florida.  In defense of the alligators and crocodiles, they are beautiful wild creatures who should not be weaponized for the political ends of an authoritarian regime.  Over the years, the Everglades have suffered one federal disaster after another, and yet the land revives after each blunder.  It’s high time to return the land and water and wild things to their natural state, in which they will thrive in peace and beauty, not terror and human oppression.