Florida’s River of Grass is no place for a prison,” wrote the Florida Democrats in Congress in their letter to the governor.

A group of Florida Democratic lawmakers said Thursday that they were denied access to the new “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention facility due to “safety concerns.” The denied legislative oversight visit came less than one day after the first batch of illegal immigrants arrived at the Everglades facility.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis says the facility will have a capacity of about 3,000 detainees when fully operational.