Hundreds of people with 'no criminal record' sent to Trump jail

The notorious new "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration jail in the Florida Everglades contains hundreds of detainees with no criminal records or charges, it was reported on Sunday, as lawmakers decried "inhumane" conditions after touring the facility.

- Richard Luscombe

Donald Trump has insisted that the remote camp in swamp land populated by pythons and alligators is reserved for immigrants who were "deranged psychopaths" and "some of the most vicious people on the planet" awaiting deportation.

But at least one detainee shouted out to politicians during the visit that he was a US citizen, the Democratic Florida congressman Maxwell Frost said.

The Miami Herald obtained and published a list of 700 people held in cages showing that at least 250 had committed no offence other than a civil immigration violation.

Authorities have refused to release a list of those sent there by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (Ice).

The Florida department of emergency management did not respond to a request from the Guardian for clarification or comment.