The South Florida immigrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" has received pushback from environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe. A lawsuit regarding the site's impact is still active.
Before the official opening of the facility in July, the Florida Republican Party announced on X that it would start selling merchandise branded with the name.
Evan Power is chair of the Florida GOP. He said the party has sold more than $125,000 worth of merchandise with the detention center's name. And that the Republican base is "loving it."
Shirts, hats, and koozies branded with "Alligator Alcatraz" are for sale on the Florida Republican Party's website. Other merchandise for sale includes items with the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight, or FAFO, Gulf of America, and multiple items supporting President Donald Trump.
“Our base is fired up with the idea of holding illegals accountable, deportations, and getting the immigration issue under control," he said. "And so it was just (a) fun name, fun vibe. We put up some ideas, and they sold and went crazy."
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Power said all items are print-on-demand, and helps the party raise money for its core mission: voter registration and voter turnout.
“People understand it, and I think, you know, at the end of the day, it's a bigger picture of where we're going with our immigration policy, which is that we want to have a safe Florida that is free of criminal illegal aliens,” he said.
But Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried disagrees. She said the GOP is making money from people's suffering.
“It's the cruelty of it all, and it's a shame that our society has gotten to a point that it is so divisive that the Republicans feel that they can put out this type of merchandise and sell it, diabolical that they thought of it, and worse off that people are actually purchasing," Fried said.
"It's not creating a civilized society. It's creating one that's built on divisiveness, cruelty, and chaos,” she added.
The Democratic Party’s online store also has merchandise for sale. Most items are printed with the party name or encourage people to vote.
"To sell merch on the thought that one of those people may escape and get eaten by an alligator. This is somebody's father, brother, son, mother .... they're the people that have been cleaning their house and mowing their lawns," Fried said. "To the Republicans of Florida, it's about the cruelty."
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
