This week, the Miami Herald offered the first glimpse into the conditions inside Alligator Alcatraz, the immigration detention center in the heart of the Everglades. Why it matters: Accounts from the facility,

Florida’s Republican and Democratic state lawmakers have been invited to tour Alligator Alcatraz on Saturday, after multiple Democratic lawmakers were denied entry last week.

Trail guide John Kalafarski wears a bug shirt to fend off mosquitoes as he walks a trail in the Everglades near the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz.” Kalafarski and others who live and work in the area think people have a misconception about the Everglades. They call it home. By PHOTO BY AL DIAZ