Hundreds of detainees at a newly opened detention center in the Florida Everglades don't have underlying criminal records, according to a Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times investigation published Sunday.
Despite the Trump administration and Florida officials' claims that the detention center, which they've gleefully dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," is holding hardened criminals and violent gang members, the Herald and Times obtained a list of roughly 700 detainees being held there. The news outlets found more than 250 people who were listed as having only immigration violations, but no criminal convictions or pending charges in the U.S.
Those numbers track with how President Donald Trump's mass deportation program is being generally carried out around the country. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention data from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, nearly half of people in ICE custody across the country in late June did not have a criminal conviction or pending criminal charges and were only being held for immigration violations. Similarly, The City published data on Monday showing that roughly half of immigrants arrested in and around New York City this year had no criminal history.
