New Bill Bans Federal Funding for Immigration Detention Centers in the Everglades, Mandates Unannounced Congressional Inspections

The “No Cages in the Everglades Act” is a straightforward bill with two major goals: protecting a critical environment and dramatically boosting oversight of immigration detention facilities.

The core of the bill is simple: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including ICE, is flat-out banned from using any federal dollars to plan, build, lease, run, or staff any immigration detention facility located inside or right next to the Everglades ecosystem. This means no taxpayer money can support detention centers that could potentially harm this sensitive wetland area. For the average person, this is a clear win for environmental protection, ensuring that critical federal infrastructure projects don’t end up damaging one of the nation’s most unique natural resources.

Open Doors for Oversight: Congress Gets the Keys

One of the most significant provisions in this Act is the massive shift in how Congress can conduct oversight. The bill mandates that any facility holding people for DHS—whether it’s government-run or contracted out—must allow Members of Congress and their designated staff to inspect it at any time, announced or unannounced. This is a big deal. Currently, access can often be restricted or delayed. This bill removes that barrier, stating explicitly that DHS cannot use contracts or agreements to block or limit this access. Think of it like this: your boss (Congress, representing the public) can now drop by the job site (the detention facility) whenever they want to make sure things are running correctly, without having to give two weeks' notice. This provision is designed to increase transparency and accountability immediately for every single ICE facility nationwide, not just those near the Everglades.

The Inspector General’s 90-Day Deep Dive

Beyond stopping future construction, the bill requires a serious look back. Within 90 days of the Act becoming law, the DHS Inspector General (IG) must launch an independent review of any existing detention facility built in the Everglades area. This isn't just a quick check; the IG has to report to Congress on several key areas, including how the money was spent, the process used to choose the location, and whether the facility meets various federal detention standards (like NDS 2000 or PBNDS 2011). Crucially, the IG must also detail all formal and informal complaints made by detainees about conditions or treatment, and assess the environmental risks—think hurricanes or flooding—to both the facility and the people inside it. This mandated review ensures that past decisions are scrutinized and that the potential risks to staff and detainees in environmentally hazardous locations are fully understood.