What A Day - Inside 'Alligator Alcatraz' with Rep. Maxwell Frost

Episode Date: July 18, 2025

Alligator Alcatraz, a pop-up immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, has been touted by members of the Trump Administration as an ‘efficient and low cost way’ to carry out the president's mass deportation agenda against ‘criminal illegal aliens.’ But an investigation by the Miami Herald found hundreds of the people at the facility have no criminal convictions or pending charges at all. And according to detainees and staff, the conditions in the makeshift facility are horrible, with reports of floors flooded with waste water, food ridden with worms, and clouds of mosquitos. Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost visited Alligator Alcatraz. He joins us to talk about his experience, and how he thinks Democrats should respond.And in headlines: An Israeli strike hit the only Catholic church in Gaza, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin slammed Trump’s judicial nominee Emil Bove as “unqualified,’ and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem hinted carry-on liquid limits could change.Show Notes:Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Friday, July 18th. I'm Jane Coaston, and this is What a Day, the show that says absolutely not to Elon Musk's newest AI companion chatbot, which Vice describes as a quote, goth anime waifu who is supposed to be your girlfriend. But don't worry, there's a version for the ladies with an AI bot based on Edward from Twilight. Remember Twilight? This goes to my theory that for President Donald Trump it's always 1987, and for Elon Musk it is always 2005. On today's show, an Israeli strike hits the only Catholic church in Gaza. And Democratic Congressman Jamie Ruskin slams Trump's judicial nominee, Emil Bové, as unqualified. But let's start with immigration. Specifically, let's talk about alligator alcatraz. That's the name

being used for an immigration detention center built in the Florida Everglades. The Trump administration and Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis have been very excited about it since the facility opened earlier this month. The official Twitter account for the Department of Homeland Security even made an AI-generated meme about it, where the alligators are the immigration agents. Get it? Just very tasteful. Here's White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt speaking at a press conference at

the end of June. There is only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way flight. It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain. The facility will have up to 5,000 beds to house, process, and deport criminal illegal aliens. This is an efficient and low-cost way to help carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history. Yes.

Criminal illegal aliens. Like a 15-year-old boy with no criminal history who spent three days at the facility, which is supposed to be for adults. That's according to the Miami Herald. The paper also found hundreds of people at the facility for, quote, criminal illegal aliens, have no criminal convictions or pending charges at all. And it's worth pointing out that the Herald was only able to learn this information because it got a copy of a list of detainees.

The government isn't revealing who is at the detention center, and even immigration attorneys say they're not being told if their clients have been sent to the site. Some detainees and legal aid groups are taking part in a class action lawsuit challenging the lack of access to legal representation. According to the detainees themselves, the conditions in the makeshift facility are horrible. Floors flooded with wastewater, worm-ridden food, and clouds of mosquitoes. A former guard told the Washington Post she only lasted a week working at the center because the conditions for detainees and for staff were so bad. Which I'm sure is just part of the fun for the Trump administration.

Florida Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost visited the Everglades facility last week. I talked to him about his experience and what he wants Democrats to do next. Representative Frost, welcome to What a Day! Yeah, thanks for having me on. I want to start with your visit to the facility late last week. What did you see? A lot.

Some top lines are this. Number one, it's a tent city in the middle of the Everglades, right? The hot Florida sun is beating down on these tents. It is an area that is an airfield that essentially they wanted to make this years, decades ago into one of the largest freight airports in the entire country in the Southeast. They abandoned the project because of the environmental concerns and because of potential flooding. That was for an airport with infrastructure. Now they've built a tent city where they want to hold 4,000 detainees plus staff in the same place. And so some of the things that really stuck out to me are number one, they didn't let us in the tent where the immigrants are being held,

but they let us walk into the front door and we can see in. And this was a very like emotional moment for me, you know, looking in and seeing these cages, about six cages in one tent. Each cage holds 32 people. Only three toilets in that place where the water source, it's like one of those jail units where it's the toilet and the sink and the sink is where you're supposed to drink water from, is for 32 people. It was warm in there, it was about 85 degrees. And something we've heard is the temperatures are always at the extremes. Either it's very hot or sometimes at night and in the morning even when they turn off the lights,

the power also completely turns off and the AC goes out as well. So it's sometimes hot, then sometimes the AC is cranked so high that it's actually freezing and they don't have blankets or anything. They just have the, you know, the cot mat. Not just that, but I think something that's really important for people to understand is I didn't barely saw any law enforcement in there, which in all the people running it, it's all private companies. It's pretty much a private prison. What do we know about the people who are being held in this prison?

So they're supposed to be all males, 18 plus. The Miami Herald actually just reported that a 15 year old was held in this facility, which is horrible. They were called out on it and the state admitted the mistake and they just moved into another facility. I saw mainly young people. I did see a group of older like seniors being held there as well and it was all Latinos. All Latinos and maybe a couple Haitians I saw there or they could have been like Afro Latino, but a few black folks. But all black and brown people. Were you able to talk to anyone at the facility and did anyone try to talk to you? Well, no, they didn't let me talk to anyone at the facility because they didn't let me into the actual tent where they were.

And I actually had a binder full of pictures of my constituents and their names. The pictures are the most important because I can, oh, that's you. You know, I can walk over there or I can show other detainees and other people the photos and ask them, have you seen this guy? Do you know where he is? Is he doing okay? They just let us into the door and people were yelling. They were yelling at us.

Help me, help me. Somebody was yelling, I haven't been able to contact my wife. Here's her number. Tell her I'm okay. He started yelling her number, but I couldn't. I got the first three digits. I couldn't get the rest of it because it was so loud. They started chanting, libertad, libertad, freedom, freedom. I've been saying this. I really saw myself in those cages. I saw people who look exactly like me. And it actually hit me when I was walking out of this internment camp that I'm one of the only people my age that is Latino and black that's gonna be able to walk in and walk out on my own accord. Wow. Sorry that's that's a lot.

What are some of the ways both in Florida and nationally you see the Trump administration sanitizing the realities of what this facility is and what's going on there. Because you see this weird dichotomy between the way that they tweet about this facility as like you're gonna get murdered by alligators, but then they're also talking about how like, it's totally fine, it's very normal, these are, you know, everything's totally great.

So how should people be reading in between the lines of what Republicans are saying about it? It's a horrible well-run facility right, so it is a facility run by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and we actually have one of the top divisions of emergency management in the entire country. They're good at setting stuff up and running an operation but people have to understand that they're good at setting up the cages and putting people in the cages, but the conditions are still bad and it's still inhumane.

And even with them being good at running like a logistical operation, the toilets most of the time don't work. I mean, I just spoke with someone last night that's in the facility. I was talking to him on the phone. He called his, he called his lawyer. The lawyer called me and patched me in. I asked him a bunch of questions and I asked him, tell me what the toilets are right now. He walked over there, came back to the phone. Two of them weren't working. One of them was backed up. Right. And this

is where they live. A local tribe is trying to sue over this facility because of environmental issues. And you actually mentioned how the original freight airport that they were going to build never happened because of environmental issues. Can you talk about the effect of building a prison like this so hastily in a place like the Everglades and the impact that's having on the ecosystem and also the impact the ecosystem is having on the people in the facility? It's a lot of things. Number one, it's horrible for the land itself.

The Everglades used to be bipartisan. We try not to develop there at all. We try to really keep it there to help with the biodiversity of the state and keep it what it is. It's one of Florida's natural treasures. But also there's a tribe, the Miccosukee tribe, that has tribal land there and a lot of sacred land that people live on that is being desecrated by this facility. So yes, there's horrible environmental concerns here, but also for our indigenous people there in this tribe, big concerns there as well. I'm in California and there's been a ton of news about the immigration sweeps happening here, but I think that this facility is evidence of how all-in Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is on helping Trump's deportation agenda.

Why aren't we hearing more from places like Florida when it comes to immigration? You know, they're, I mean, they're the advocates and people and coalitions have come together so diligently and are fighting back against it. Part of the struggle we have is we don't have enough resources for the pro bono lawyers to represent people in these cases. Like the thing that people need once they get put in a facility like this is they need an immigration attorney, someone who's experienced in helping with deportations to help them fight the charges.

That is the top thing they need. And you know, most of these people don't have the money to get an attorney like that. And so we turn to our legal aid organizations. And a lot of these organizations are like one or two people who don't have all the capacity in the world to represent. I mean, this place has like almost about a thousand people in it right now. So we have like a really tough capacity issue on the legal front and for people who really want to help out There's a really good organizations, you know

Florida immigrant coalition Orlando Center for Justice a lot of different people who are trying to build a capacity to try to help represent these people but This isn't just an Orlando or Florida problem This is a national problem that if people want to get involved in helping our immigrants and people who are being scooped up off the side of the street and thrown into these detainment facilities and these interment camps, we need to help get them legal representation to fight the deportation charges because they are actively being told, if you fight it, this hellhole you're in, it's your home for at least a few months. Or here's the paper, sign it, we're going to send you somewhere. We're not going to tell you where you're going, but you'll go somewhere. And that's the decision that these people who are Americans, for the most

part, right? These are people who have been in our country for over a decade for the most part. These are people who are our neighbors, who have contributing to our society, our humans. That is what they're going through. That's the decision put in front of them. Sign this and go somewhere or say hi to your new home at, you know, this facility. What are you hearing from your constituents in Florida about this? Because this is a state that has moved very far to the right in the last few years. And Trump won a lot of support from Latinos in the state, especially Cubans, with the caveat that Latino voters

are a huge voting bloc with lots of different personal experiences depending on where they were born and just people are people. But are you hearing any buyer's remorse from voters who supported Trump in 2024? Yeah, especially in South Florida, we see a lot of people, especially from the... We see a lot of people from Venezuela.

We see a lot of Cubans. A lot of these communities where there was a healthy chunk that voted for Trump, feeling like they were lied to, feeling like all this. And I know, I mean, look, I've seen this stuff online, right? I know sometimes the knee-jerk reaction is, I told you so. But at the end of the day,

politics is about addition, not subtraction. And I don't know about you, but I told you so has never worked for friends, family or girlfriends. And I sure as hell don't think it's gonna work in politics. And I really do think we need to meet folks with an immense amount of grace because we lost working people

We lost people who make under $100,000 a year We lost people who don't have a college degree and that's a problem for Democrats And I and going to those same people and saying you were wrong I just think will further push people into apathy and we need The largest coalition we can get. So how does the Democratic Party meet these voters where they are with grace? Like not with, I told you so, not with rhetoric, but with coming to people who may not have voted

for Democrats before, maybe more conservative culturally. I think that that's an important piece, especially for Latino voters. But how should Democrats come to the table to get these voters? Yeah, two things. Number one, I think the big thing is we have to show up in person. I think there's a lot of work to do online, and I really do. But at the end of the day, we have to like go to these communities and speak to as many people as possible. That's why I'm on this town hall tour with Chris Murphy. We're going to red districts. We're

speaking with people in person. And I think as we get to the place where we start spending the money on the elections and getting the message out there, we have some legs to stand on. Like we have a foundation to stand on that it's not just a message to win an election. And that's the difference between transactional organizing and transformational organizing. The second thing I had to do with the comment you said about a lot of the Latino voters that are maybe, might be a little more socially conservative. And this is very similar to a lot of the black community too, right? A lot of the older black community that there might be some more values instilled that are socially conservative. And look, it might

be difficult to try to explain why there's more than two genders, right? It might be a difficult thing. But you know what's not a difficult thing to talk about? Discrimination. Because there are no people in this country who understand discrimination more than black Americans, right? Latino people understand discrimination. And at the end of the day, I think like that's the way to frame things in a lot of communities because there's a reason why even though a lot of older black voters are more socially conservative, they still vote Democrat, right? And that type of shared solidarity is something that I think can be replicated across the country. But a lot of it has to

do with Democrats actually speaking to people, not taking black voters for granted, not taking Latino voters for granted. You know why Miami's been slipping Republican for so long? Democrats don't go there and talk to Cubans and Spanish about the things that they really care about. Then when they see an ad from a Democrat in Miami in Spanish, it's them saying, I'm not a socialist, but not talking about what we're for.

I think people are hungry for bold transformational change and Even if they a lot of people hate the other person on the other side of the ballot if we represent status quo I just as things get worse for working people and it just becomes harder even with a job. I Don't know. I mean, I just think people are gonna continue continue to like not vote the way they usually vote, if that makes sense. Representative Frost, thank you so much for your time. Yeah, thanks for having me on. Appreciate it. That was my conversation with Florida Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost. We'll get to more than it is in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts,

watch us on YouTube, and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. What A Day is brought to you by Soul. Are you sick of drinking your calories? Of waking up hungover? Having some drinks can be fun, but I'm glad I found an alternative that lets me feel great in the moment and the next day. Out of Office Gummies from Soul.

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Go to getseoul.com and use the code WOD. That's getseoul.com from a code WOD for 30% off. Here's what else we're following today. Head of Lines. Emile Beauvais is an utterly appalling selection for the federal bench, even on the completely grim standards of the Trump administration. That's Maryland Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin talking about the nomination of Amil Bové for a lifetime federal judgeship.

Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members voted to advance his nomination Thursday. Democratic members of the committee literally walked out without voting. Boves nomination goes to the full Senate next. Boves has been nominated to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals based in Philadelphia. Currently he serves as the principal associate deputy attorney general at DOJ. Oh, and he used to be President Trump's personal lawyer. Raskin spoke to What a Day newsletter writer, Matt Berg, Thursday. He's a guy who refuses to acknowledge that January 6th was a violent insurrection against the union. He refuses to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the election in 2020, beating Trump by more

than 7 million votes, 306 to 232 in the Electoral College. And he even refuses to say that Donald Trump can't run for a third term under the US Constitution. He's utterly unqualified for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench, and yet the Republicans are just getting in line like lemmings and, you know, walking the plank for Donald Trump. Bové has overseen mass firings at the Justice Department.

He's been accused of threatening people who object to Trump's agenda. And he tried to get the federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams dropped. Prior to Thursday's vote, a whistleblower accused Bové of telling DOJ officials they might have to ignore court orders. The accusations were related to Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport undocumented immigrants to an infamous mega prison in El Salvador. Sounds like a pretty chill and normal

dude. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's just the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. What's the worst that could happen? You could very easily get up on the Supreme Court. I mean, he's one level down. Oh. The Department of Justice asked a federal judge for a one-day sentence late Wednesday for the former Louisville police officer convicted of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights.

Yes, you heard that right. One day for a conviction with a maximum sentence of life in prison. In the court filing, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division argued former officer Brett Hankison, quote, did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death. It also wants to count the day Hankison was booked and his initial court appearance date as time served, so he wouldn't even have to go back to prison for a day. Notably, the filing was not signed by any of the prosecutors who tried the case, according to Reuters. It was submitted by Trump's pick to head the Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon,

and her counsel. In 2020, Hankison fired multiple gunshots through Taylor's bedroom window when police raided her home on a botched no-knock warrant. They were looking for her ex-boyfriend. None of Hankison's shots hit Taylor. The officers who killed her weren't charged since they were returning fire initiated by Taylor's boyfriend, who said he believed they were intruders. Taylor's death, along with the police killing of George Floyd, were the catalyst for mass Black Lives Matter protests

across the country that year. The attorneys representing Taylor's family called the recommendation, quote, an insult. Hankison is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. A bomb fired from an Israeli tank hit the only Catholic church in Gaza on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10. That's according to church officials. The parish's priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was among the injured.

Romanelli was a friend of the late Pope Francis and spoke to him on the phone regularly, sometimes every night. The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church also damaged the church compound where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering. Reuters spoke to Shari Suhail, who is displaced and was taking shelter at the church during the strike. who is displaced and was taking shelter at the church during the strike. This morning we were surprised by a strike on the church, a tank shell. Of course there were elderly here, innocent civilians.

My mother was wounded by shrapnel in her head. This attack is completely unjustified. Pope Leo XIV said in a telegram he was, quote, deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack. He also called for an immediate ceasefire. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said President Trump's reaction to the attack wasn't positive. She added that Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his frustration over the strike.

Netanyahu put out a rare statement claiming the attack was a mistake and calling the bomb, quote, stray ammunition. This isn't the first time the church has come under attack. In December 2023, an Israeli sniper shot and killed two women sheltering inside. I just want you to know the day I walked in the door, I started questioning everything TSA does. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem hinted some more updates to air travel rules could be on the way during a conference hosted by The Hill Wednesday.

I will tell you, I'm, I mean, the liquids, I'm questioning, so that may be the next big announcement is what size your liquids need to be. But those were about all the details she offered. Under the Transportation Security Administration's current guidance, airport travelers must have their liquids in roughly three ounce containers or smaller if they want to carry them on board. Anything bigger has to be checked with some exceptions. The limits were triggered by a 2006 incident when authorities foiled a plot to use liquid explosives smuggled aboard in carry-on luggage to blow up planes.

Pretty much ever since, TSA checkpoints have been clogged with travelers guzzling water, digging through luggage to find tubes of hair gel, and chucking jars of everything from jam to bottles of coffee. All while exasperated TSA agents look on. A bloodbath, really. Gnome announced earlier this month that travelers were no longer required to take off their shoes while going through screening. And that's the news. Before we go, why is the Jeffrey Epstein scandal causing a full blown MAGA meltdown?

On the latest episode of Polar Coaster, Dan Pfeiffer breaks down why the scandal is hitting differently than Trump's usual controversies. He unpacks new polling that shows growing dissatisfaction among Republicans over how the Epstein files are being handled, and shares surprising data on how Americans' attitudes towards immigration are shifting in a more positive direction. Dan also answers questions from Friends of the Pod subscribers. So if you've got a question and want to hear this episode, head to kruka.com slash friends to subscribe now.

That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review. Remember that you can watch the show on YouTube, where we've got graphics and you can see me look genuinely horrified like twice a show and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about how seriously our YouTube channel is growing fast, and that's because thousands of people want to see me look like I've just learned Elon Musk made a waifu chatbot like me. What a Day is also a nightly newsletter.

Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Coaston and subscribe to our YouTube channel. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producer is Emily Four. Our producer is Michelle Alloy. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had production help today from Greg Walters,

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