A South Florida activist whose father was detained at the state-run immigrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” confronted Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar over her support of the facility, as a recent Department of Homeland Security inspector general report detailed significant concerns about conditions inside.
Read more ‘Worst I’ve seen it’: Flooding remains an issue in Miami Beach due to high tide and rain
Arianne Betancourt interrupted Salazar during a public event, accusing elected officials of failing to advocate for immigrants held at the detention center operated by the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration.
Betancourt’s father, Justo Betancourt, spent months at Alligator Alcatraz. She said she was among those who documented and publicly raised concerns about the facility’s conditions. Court records show Justo Betancourt served time in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and other charges in 2016.
“Most of the things that were discovered at Alligator Alcatraz was because I was documenting them,” Betancourt said in the video with Salazar.
In an interview with NBC6, Betancourt also criticized South Florida’s Cuban American elected officials, arguing they had not done enough to help detainees.
“I don’t think that any of our Cuban-American elected officials have stood or represented the Cuban community. They have not done enough for the people in those detention centers,” she said.
DHS report found deficiencies in health, safety and medical care
Betancourt’s allegations were recently echoed in a Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report that identified multiple deficiencies at the detention center.
The 33-page report found that Alligator Alcatraz failed to meet several detention standards related to health and safety, medical care, food service and personal hygiene. Investigators also reported instances in which detainees were held in small holding cages.
The findings contrasted sharply with assessments made by several Republican lawmakers who toured the facility shortly after it opened.
Salazar previously defended facility
In a July 2025 interview with CBS News shortly after Alligator Alcatraz began operations, Salazar said the detention center met federal standards.
“It’s a jail, people are in cage[s]. I sat on the beds. They’re clean. They’re soft,” Salazar said at the time.
Read more Lawsuit planned as DeSantis, cabinet approve terrorism designations
She also stated that the facility “meets the highest standards for any federal detention center.”
During that same interview, however, Salazar emphasized that the detention center should be used for individuals with criminal records.
Data previously reviewed by NBC6 raised questions about who was being housed there. In December, NBC6 reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement data showed that only about one in four of the more than 6,700 men detained at the facility had what ICE classified as a criminal conviction.
Salazar pushes back
The confrontation comes as Salazar has drawn national attention for publicly criticizing some aspects of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.
Responding to the latest criticism, Salazar characterized the encounter with Betancourt as politically motivated.
In a statement to NBC6, Salazar said:
“Months ago, Ms. Betancourt came to our office as part of a group of Democratic activists during what was clearly a media driven protest. Even so, our team met with her and offered to help with her father’s case. She declined.”
Salazar described the confrontation as a “coordinated political effort with a clear agenda.”
Other South Florida Republicans also visited facility
Salazar was not the only South Florida Republican lawmaker to tour Alligator Alcatraz after it opened and publicly express confidence in its operations.
Reps. Carlos Giménez and Mario Díaz-Balart also visited the detention center during its early months and did not publicly raise concerns following their tours.
The newly released inspector general report, however, has intensified scrutiny of the facility and renewed questions about the treatment of detainees housed there.
Read more Wet weather returns with widespread rain across South Florida Tuesday