‘Sunday church in the Everglades.’ Faith movement grows at Alligator Alcatraz protests

They’re out there, deep in the Florida Everglades every Sunday evening — rain or shine — holding signs, singing songs and praying.

Since it opened at the beginning of July, Florida’s migrant detention center dubbed ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ has sparked a slew of controversy surrounding its existence, including multiple lawsuits from environmental and civil rights groups seeking to shutter the detention camp.

With pending lawsuits and now a government shutdown, the future of the controversial facility remains uncertain, but one thing has been constant: The group of Florida faith leaders has showed up week-after-week throughout all of it.

The growing group of clergy and immigration activists are organizing across the state to protest Alligator Alcatraz, the $608 million detention center funded