Immigration

Immigration has dominated recent public discourse about Florida, whether it be the opening of Alligator Alcatraz, or Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring an "immigration emergency".

The first Catholic Mass was celebrated at the controversial immigrant detention center in the remote Everglades on Saturday and Church officials are now permitted by state corrections officials to provide Catholic ministry and pastoral care moving forward, Archdiocese of Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said every person held at Florida's Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention facility has been issued a final order saying they must be deported. Lawyers say he's wrong.

About 20 people attended the public forum hosted at the Manatee Unitarian Universalist Church in Bradenton in partnership with Onward and Empowered Florida Inc.

About 100 undocumented immigrants have been deported from an airstrip adjoining the detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” and “the cadence” of outgoing flights is increasing, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the state's housing capacity for the immigration effort is "a drop in the bucket."

The amount — to be fronted by Florida taxpayers — is in line with the $450 million a year officials have estimated the facility will cost.

A person familiar with the arrest said on Monday that the arrest occurred at Pierre Réginald Boulos' home in South Florida late last week. Boulos was born in the United States but renounced his citizenship to run for president of Haiti in recent years.

Over 260 people were released from prisons in El Salvador and Venezuela. Now they face the challenge of coming home.

It's not clear how Critical Response Strategies landed the work or whether it previously handled managing a detention facility. However, staffers from the firm have a visible presence at the center.