Cooped up like “chickens in cages”, eaten alive by bloodthirsty mosquitoes and living in cells said to be awash with human waste and filth.

What they’re trying to do, at the end of the day, is pretend like this facility is not governed by federal law,”  said one attorney.

The creation of President Donald Trump's new migrant detention facility in Florida -- dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" -- has prompted social media users across the world to share an image of a site surrounded by a moat with creatures swimming in it.

Deportation flights from the remote Everglades immigration lockup known as Alligator Alcatraz have begun and are expected to increase soon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday. The first flights operated by the Department of Homeland Security have transferred about 100 detainees from the immigration detention center to other countries,

But data and news reports about the first month’s arrivals show the majority of Alligator Alcatraz’s detainees do not have U.S. criminal convictions.  President Donald Trump, federal officials and Florida Republicans touted the remote Everglades immigration detention centers — dubbed Alligator Alcatraz — as a place to detain people deemed the "worst of the worst.

While the new Everglades migrant detention center fends off complaints about its living conditions, some detainees claim guards are also doling out discipline for questioning rules — including standing in the hot Florida sun for extended periods.

We’re aiming to raise $6,000 by August 10, so we can deepen our reporting on the critical stories unfolding right now: grassroots protests, immigration, politics and more.

Florida officials should learn from the facility that inspired the state’s newest immigrant detention center, and change course before it’s too late.

Long before Alligator Alcatraz was stood up, DeSantis offered his own takes on pricy grouper sandwiches, his children’s predilection for waffles, family disputes over chicken fingers and a once-unfulfilled yearning for a previously trendy Popeye’s chicken sandwich.