Republican lawmaker challenges Democrats' characterization of 'Alligator Alcatraz' after touring facility

Florida Rep. Maria Salazar said the Sunshine State's new "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center meets the "highest of standards" while working to debunk Democrats' claims that its conditions are "cruel."

The Republican lawmaker, who represents Florida's 27th congressional district, toured the facility with other legislators over the weekend where she got a firsthand look at the conditions. 

"I thought that it was a mistake from the authorities not allowing us to talk them," she told "Fox & Friends" co-host Lawrence Jones on Tuesday.

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"I was able to shout in Spanish. There were around 40 of them in shackles, and I tried to talk with them and ask them… 'How are they treating you?' One of them said, ‘Pretty good.’ Another one said, ‘Not so bad,’ but I really wanted to engage. They did not let me."

Salazar was able to go inside one of the cages and sit on one of the beds provided for inmates.

Though she acknowledged that "no one likes to be inside" cages, she described the ones available as "clean" and the beds as "soft." 

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"They had three metal toilets with a little wall to cover people when they're doing their business. They had two telephones where they can call their attorneys or loved ones," she recalled.

"Then they took us to another recreational area, also caged in… with some grass where they could run or do some exercise…. It meets the highest standards for any federal facility that we've done," she added.

Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz slammed the detention center as an "internment camp" after visiting on Saturday, saying the conditions witnessed inside the building were "appalling."

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., called the center a "cruel political stunt" and a "spectacle of political theater."