The detention of two Italian nationals at “Alligator Alcatraz,” the new immigrant detention center in Florida’s Everglades, is sparking criticism from lawmakers in Italy, who are calling on their country’s conservative government to speak out.
Gaetano Mirabella Costa and Fernando Artese are being held in “inhuman and degrading” conditions at the facility, Laura Boldrini, a lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Party, said on social media, pushing for the men to be repatriated. Angelo Bonelli of the Green Europe party said the two Italians had been “locked in cages, without access to a lawyer, deprived of dignity, water and decent food.”
Former prime minister Matteo Renzi, now a senator who leads the Italia Viva party, accused Giorgia Meloni’s government of deference to President Donald Trump rather than acting to “defend the rights of an Italian citizen.” Meloni, Italy’s most right-wing leader in decades, has one of the better relationships with Trump among European leaders. The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department, confirmed in an email that the two Italian nationals were being held at the facility. Florida officials and Republican lawmakers who have visited the facility have disputed reports of poor conditions there.