OCHOPEE, Fla. — A migrant detention center, known widely as “Alligator Alcatraz,” opened a little more than two weeks ago and most days since, people have come here to protest, but not on Saturday.
Nearly everyone gathered to just pray.
Betty Osceola, a member of the Miccosukee Tribe, says she hopes to reverse the negative energy that surrounds the detention center through prayer.
“This is my homeland our people’s homeland, not just the Miccosukee people but for all the plants and animals,” Osceola said. “I can feel it in the trees, the uncertainty of what’s going on with all these people coming and going in.”
“We are just out here to try to acknowledge the land that we love, and let it know that are trying and fighting to save it,” added Jessica Namath.
No signs were spotted and some people were seen with their hands up, while others had their hands together in prayer with tears coming out of their eyes.
“It hurts, especially coming from a governor that won his election running as a champion of the Everglades and then spits in our faces for us who live here in the Everglades,” attendee Garret Stuart said. “They are hurting nature. They are hurting the environment (and) we are supposed to protect it. We talk about Everglades restoration, yet we are doing this.”
Saturday’s prayer gathering brought people of all faiths and nationalities together. Some say they have family or friends detained inside.
“We constantly see unfortunately families being separated, families that are suffering, and a lot of them with no criminal records,” said attendee Mayra Domingo.
But on the other side of the road, the Alligator Alcatraz sign has become a tourist attraction.
Local 10 News has also learned that the Miccosukee Tribe is looking to join an environmental lawsuit against the state and federal agencies over the construction of the detention facility.
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