Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claims that the newly opened “Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center has “zero impact" on the Everglades and restoration efforts. However, environmental groups and experts say the facility's operation poses myriad concerns.

In the rush to open a detention camp in the Florida Everglades for “some of the most vicious” migrants illegally in the country, state and federal officers detained a 15-year-old boy with no criminal record and sent him in handcuffs to Alligator Alcatraz, the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times have learned.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday rebuffed criticism of poor conditions at Alligator Alcatraz, the immigrant detention center, by saying people housed there have the option to self-deport instead. DeSantis said the U.