Deep in the hazardous and ecologically fragile Everglades, hundreds of migrants are confined in cages in a makeshift tent detention facility Florida’s Republican governor calls “safe and secure” and Democratic lawmakers call “inhumane.

A Texas-based company gave $10,000 to Florida's Republican Party days before getting state contracts to help with transportation at a state-run detention facility for migrants in the Everglades. IRG Global Emergency Management Inc.

Five state lawmakers who were denied access to a new immigration detention center built by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration in the Florida Everglades have sued the governor, arguing that he overstepped his authority in blocking legislative oversight of the facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.