Democratic Florida lawmakers who attempted to enter "Alligator Alcatraz" on Thursday were barred entry after they expressed "humanitarian concerns" about the new Everglades detention center.
They were denied entry just hours after the first detainees arrived at the center.
"They stopped us pretty immediately," Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who attempted to visit the facility along with four other Democratic lawmakers, told CNN. Eskamani and her colleagues were drawn to the detention center by reports of flooding following a storm on Tuesday.
Florida police stopped the lawmakers from entering the facility. Later, a general counsel from the Florida Division of Emergency Management told them "security concerns" were the reason for their non-admittance.
"If it's unsafe for us, how is it safe for the detainees?" Eskamani reportedly asked the general counsel.
"This is a blatant abuse of power and an attempt to conceal human rights violations from the public eye," the five lawmakers said in a joint statement.
"Alligator Alcatraz," dubbed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, was created by the federal and Florida state governments and is located in the states Everglades region, about 50 miles west of Miami.
Days before they went to the facility, Eskamani and her colleagues sounded the alarm over reports that immigrant children and pregnant women could be detained there.
The facility "will have up to 5,000 beds to house, process, and deport criminal illegal aliens," according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. It "might be as good as the real Alcatraz," President Donald Trump said after visiting it on Tuesday.
Critics have compared the detention center, the sixth in the state, to Nazi concentration camps.
In addition to stark humanitarian concerns, environmental groups have drawn attention to the potential ecosystem damage the rapidly constructed facility could cause.
"This project has been rushed through with zero analysis of the impacts of all of the vehicles and thousands of people who will be detained or work on the site. That is contrary to law," Alisa Coe, deputy managing attorney of Earthjustice, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
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