President Trump made headlines when he first talked about reopening the famed Alcatraz Prison a few months back.
I’m pretty sure he was talking about the famed federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island off the coast of San Francisco. Still, the president’s wish was sort of granted when a migrant detention center for migrants here illegally, opened this week in the Everglades. The facility has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” due to being smack-dab in the middle of the gator-filled swamps.
Environmentalists, Native American groups and human rights advocates have voiced loud opposition to the detention center, which opened with lightning speed after only eight days of construction.
Before it was an ICE detention facility, the site was home to the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, a 39-square-mile airport facility with a 10,500-foot runway to temporarily detain those here illegally.
Some of the objections to the facility are that it’s located in an alligator and snake-infested swamp. I’ve also read that some have complained about the Florida heat. Though any facility in Florida is subject to it being hot. It is Florida. Oh, and it’s also air-conditioned.
I’m OK with a detention center for people who break our laws being put in a harsh landscape as long as the environment doesn’t suffer and I’ve watched enough documentaries about the Everglades to know just how fragile the ecosystem is. Hopefully, the necessary safeguards are beibng out in place.
As far as those harsh conditions, alligators, and snakes, like the dangerous waters around the original Alcatraz prison, means surviving an escape is unlikely.
That bring me to the Question of the Week:
DO YOU THINK ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ, A MIGRANT DETENTION CENTER IN THE EVERGLADES, IS A GOOD IDEA? WHY OR WHY NOT?
You can simply cast your votes on the ballots above.
You can scan the QR code that is on the print edition page or go to https://www.floridatoday.com/opinions-columns/.
Please leave a comment telling us why you voted the way you did. In order for your comment or email to be published on our website and in next week’s print edition, you must include your first and last name.
You can also shoot me an email with “Alligator Alcatraz” in the subject line. I look forward to reading your responses.
Last Sunday I asked:
Should Brevard Public Schools ban the use of cell phones during school hours for all students K-12? Why or why not?
The Results:
Here’s what you had to say:
Cell phones should be banned. They disrupt teaching by classroom misuse by students.
Parents who need to contact students during class can do so by calling the school office as was done before cell phones became available.
The proposed school rule would leave the phones available for emergency use. It will be a challenge for teachers to deal with misbehaving students who use them during instruction which would be limited if students were forbidden to have them in the classroom.
Having a cell phone in emergencies is no guarantee of quick action as seen in the pulse night club and Uvalde school shootings where the police stood outside for a long tine before acting.
— James Beasom
We have two grandchildren – one junior and one high school age. Their safety and sense of security is of paramount concern for their parents and us. In the event of a dangerous situation quick access to their cellphones provides some comfort. A simple resolution…have a table/desk centrally located in each classroom where all cellphones can be kept out in the open and readily available. Classrooms are not that large; therefore, IF a situation arose they could get to their cellphone quickly.
— Renee Carney
Ban books, ban phones…but guns are ok?
— Donna Kearns
I’m for every child having a phone with them in school in case of an emergency . With the gun violence children need to be able to notify the police and/or their parents to mention just 2 reasons to allow phones.
— Carol Ellis
Cell phones in the classroom has been the worst thing to happen in education. Students cheat on class work and tests. Asking a student to put the phone away causes the biggest disruption in the classroom and disrespect toward teachers and administrators. Parents can call the school if they need to pass a message to the student and students can call parents when needed. There is no reason for students to have phones in a classroom.
— Sharon Bowen
Studies show that just the visual presence of a phone reduces student focus, attention, and comprehension. I support rules to keep students’ silenced phones in backpacks throughout the school day, unless they are needed for a teacher-directed activity. If enforced, students will benefit on many levels from being untethered from their screens for several hours a day (we all would).
— Devon Vann
I am a retired high school math teacher since 2020, of 38 years in the classroom, 28 in Brevard County. When being asked what I saw as the biggest problem I faced preventing me from being able to perform my duties effectively in the classroom, I immediately answered “students using their cellphone during instruction.” Not the parents, or the bureaucracy, or disrespectful students. Those definitely rank high on the list, but #1 was cellphones. Yes, there were rules against using cellphones in the classroom, but the students were always concealing their use, trying to get away with it. It made me become the “Cellphone Cop” in the classroom, reprimanding students and writing referrals. This took away from my ability to actually teach. It was an incredible distraction! So often I heard from students that “my other teachers let us,” or “my mom just texted me,” or “I’m just checking the time,” never mind that there’s a huge face clock hanging on the wall. (I’ve actually been told by several students that they don’t like those kind of clocks, but I digress). But yes, if there were no cellphones in the classroom, it would have made my job SO much easier.
— Gary Arthurs
As a retired Public School teacher and counselor, I understand all too well the need to limit cellphone usage during school hours. My common sense tells me that as a parent, I want to know my child is learning while at school but is also safe. I voted no to cellphones, but now feel another choice should be offered. In case of emergency, we want our children to use this technology so I would voted yes, but with limits to certain locations where the students can make a call or send a text to parents. The fact that Ms Wright witnessed videotaping and TikTok dances tells me there is a lack of proper supervision.
— Jessica Boyles
Put the cell phones away! Oh wait, students might actually learn something since teachers hands are tied by book bans, alternative style history, and not having to pass certain requirements to graduate!
— Jeannine Flynn
ALL Students Should Be Banned From Using their cellphones During School Hours !!! NO EXCUSES!!!! LESS DISTRACTIONS MORE FOCUS BETTER GRADES & LEARNING!!!!!!
— Michelle Merritt
Since we have gotten nowhere in this country with gun control, it is horrible to think of my grandchild with no means of communication.
— Brenda Cross
For the sake of other students and teachers…. phones need to be banned in schools. The distraction is not conducive to a learning environment.
— Irene Huard
I voted no cell phones in all grades K-12 because I substitute teach in Brevard schools on a regular basis.
Cell phone useage in the classroom has become an epidemic. And I primarily teach in Brevard High Schools.
Cell phones take the students away from the learning experience and are a total distraction.
— Tom Marshall
I agree that most Americans are “glued” to their phones, for a variety of reasons. Recently, I was in an airport lounge at the Orlando airport. Years ago, the atmosphere was much different. There must have been 40-50 adults in the lounge and EVERONE was looking at their cell phone! No one talking or laughing with one another. Just looking, (staring) at their phones and not acknowledging anyone or anything else. It is a shame.
In conclusion, I think schools should ban phones in class in Kindergarten and Middle schools and have them “discouraged” in High Schools. (Logistically, where would they be kept? Maximizing health and security?) Reports have found that most individuals under 16 yrs of age should NOT have a Smart phone. (I hear that “flip-phones are becoming more popular and not just with parents. Kids are getting tired of this “interaction” caused by smartphones, as well. Ultimately, it is the parents and school officials that need to enforce “accountability”. (Not to “punish” individuals by taking away the phones. You are actually helping them become more self-sufficient and cooperative- helping their maturation.
— John Buscemi
No, Brevard Public Schools have NO legal authority to deprive students of their personal cell phones. Nor does any other government agency.
All Brevard students retain their fundamental Constitutional rights to personal property.
Students are free citizens ―not inmates at County Juvenile Corrections Facilities.
— Ken Bertalle
Contact Torres at jtorres@floridatoday.com. You can follow him on X @johnalbertorres
Multimedia editor Rob Landers contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Question of the Week: Do you think ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is a good idea?
Reporting by John A. Torres, Florida Today / Florida Today
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