JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville contractor hired to staff Alligator Alcatraz is coming under scrutiny from state lawmakers.
Action News Jax first told you Tuesday Jacksonville-based Critical Response Strategies (CRS) is being paid $78.5 million dollars for its work at the immigration detention center in the Everglades.
According to state records, the CRS LLC was created in 2021, and the following year it secured its first contract with the State of Florida.
Since then, CRS has secured 45 state contracts according to records from the Florida Department of Financial Services.
Those contracts almost universally deal with disaster relief work, and in some cases, providing medical staff.
“It’s raising even more alarm bells,” said State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando).
RELATED: Democrats and Republican lawmakers leave Alligator Alcatraz with vastly different impressions
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Speaking to Action News Jax Wednesday, Eskamani questioned how any of CRS’ prior work translates to operating an immigrant detention center.
“These are folks that they are being held in cages, they are being treated as if they are prisoners, yet the reality is that hundreds who are being detained have no criminal background,” said Eskamani.
She also questioned the qualifications of those staffing the facility.
She noted Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management Kevin Guthrie waived several rules, including the requirement for employees to undergo background checks, in the days leading up to Alligator Alcatraz’s construction.
“And so it creates an environment where you have folks who are being paid excessive salaries, who are not experts in any of these fields, and are managing human bodies,” said Eskamani.
When combined, CRS’ state contracts total more than $148 million over a three-year span.
That means the company’s latest $78.5 million contract related to Alligator Alcatraz exceeded the total value of the company’s 44 prior state contracts.
And that high price tag is also a point of concern for Eskamani.
“The hourly rates are astronomical. I mean, the lowest is $38 an hour, and they go up to hundreds of dollars per hour, and it’s unclear if those who are even hired to fulfill these roles are trained,” said Eskamani.
Action News Jax has been trying to get answers about CRS’ work at Alligator Alcatraz from both CRS and the Florida Division of Emergency Management for more than two weeks now.
So far, we’ve gotten no response from either.
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