‘Grand Opening of An American Concentration Camp’
Republicans unveil brutal — and expensive — facility as they also try to strip away healthcare
A metaphorical “split screen” moment caught the attention of a large swath of Americans, as on one hand Republicans in Congress were working to pass legislation that will cut tens of millions of Americans off their healthcare, while on the other Donald Trump was touring a costly — and brutal — new detention facility in Florida.
Republicans in Washington DC are busy trying to pass Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which will gut funding for Medicaid and food assistance programs while gifting a new tax cut largely to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations.
Meanwhile, Trump was in Florida with Republican Gov Ron DeSantis, opening a new detention camp deep in the Everglades. The camp, estimated to cost $450 million a year and ultimately contain 5,000 detainees, is the latest effort in Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Trump and DeSantis touted the dangers that lie in the Everglades — including alligators — anyone who would attempt to escape, promoting the brutality of the place and calling it “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Further, those behind the camp are selling memorabilia for it.
The name given it is just one objection.
“No, we're not calling it Alligator Alcatraz. It's a Florida concentration camp,” Benjamin Dreyer, a prominent copy editor and author, posted on social media.
Jon Cooper, a prominent Democratic strategist and influencer, posted: “The Grand Opening of an American Concentration Camp. The Republicans are proudly calling it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ Let’s call it what it is.”
Many others on social media suggested “Alligator Auschwitz,” as an alternative, in reference to the notorious Nazi concentration camp from the Holocaust.
Prominent attorney and influencer Max Kennerly explained why the term “concentration camp” fits over a sobriquet referring to an historical prison.
“‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is wrong and media should not use it. It's propaganda. Alcatraz held people convicted of crimes, particularly violent crimes,” Kennerly posted. “The Florida camp holds people *not* convicted of any crime. If they had been, they'd be in prison elsewhere.
“The site is a textbook concentration camp.”
Prominent influencer Christopher Webb noted the price tag of the facility and how easily the government constructed it.
“It’s costing taxpayers $450/M annually & Alligator Alcatraz concentration camp is already flooding. Imagine a hurricane. People are going to die,” he posted. “There’s always enough money to hurt folks, but when it comes to public transit, low-income housing, schools, or public healthcare, ‘Sorry, we’re broke.’”
One-time congressional candidate and non-profit leader Melanie D’Arrigo was even more to the point.
“It costs taxpayers $89,425 to incarcerate one person at Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ per year. That’s more than what 95% of Americans spend on housing and food,” she posted. “Republican priorities: Waste tax dollars torturing immigrants, while cutting support for working class families.”
Please support our work…
Please subscribe …