Alex DeLuca
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Alex DeLuca
@alexldeluca21.bsky.social
writer @miaminewtimes
tips: alex.deluca@miaminewtimes.com or DM for Signal
Last year, Miami-Dade County Public Schools enrolled nearly 14,000 foreign-born students.

This year? Just 2,550.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-d...
Miami-Dade Schools See Sharp Drop in New Immigrant Students
Schools across the U.S. have seen massive drops in enrollment of immigrant students.
www.miaminewtimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:59 PM
A small K–12 Montessori school in Michigan says a nearby Bitcoin mine, owned by a Florida GOP congressional candidate, is making life miserable.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/florida...
Florida GOP Candidate’s Bitcoin Mine Is Driving Michigan School Nuts
Cryptocurrency executive Michael Carbonara is running to unseat U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
www.miaminewtimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:36 PM
NEW: Miami's most controversial cop, Capt. Javier Ortiz, was supposed to retire today.

Now he’s suing to keep his job (again).

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miamis-...
Miami's Most Controversial Cop Isn't Retiring Without a Fight
Javier Ortiz refuses to go gently into that good night.
www.miaminewtimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:16 PM
In other news….you can now openly carry a gun at many Miami-Dade public libraries.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/you-can...
You Can Now Openly Carry a Gun at Many Miami-Dade Public Libraries
Florida's open carry law leaves public libraries unprotected.
www.miaminewtimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM
A developer is floating a plan to erect the tallest building in the history of Overtown, Miami’s historically Black neighborhood.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/56-stor...
56-Story Miami Tower Designed by Kobi Karp Planned for Overtown
The building would have 200 "income-restricted" micro-apartments.
www.miaminewtimes.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:55 PM
New: With Florida’s open carry ban overturned, Publix stores across the state will now allow customers to openly carry guns.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-p...
Miami Publix Stores Now Allowing Open Carry, Employees Say
Grab your glock, honey. We're going grocery shopping.
www.miaminewtimes.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:25 PM
A Miami Beach police officer driving an unmarked patrol car struck a woman walking with her baby last week.

The department says it’s investigating.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-b...
Miami Beach Police Investigating Crash Involving Officer, Woman, and Baby
Miami Beach Police are investigating a collision between an officer in an unmarked patrol truck, a woman, and her baby at 8th Street and Michigan Avenue.
www.miaminewtimes.com
September 23, 2025 at 7:31 PM
A Miami Beach salon is facing backlash after displaying a hat printed with the phrase “Make Gaza Flat Again!”

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/make-ga...
Miami Beach Salon Displays 'Make Gaza Flat Again' Hat. Backlash Ensues.
"Gaza should be flat, totally flat," a woman from the salon, who didn't identify themselves, told New Times.
www.miaminewtimes.com
August 28, 2025 at 8:57 PM
New: An ex-Miami-Dade Fire official steered $332K in county funds to a company he ran with his brother, per a new OIG report.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-d...
Miami-Dade Fire Official Steered $300K in County Funds to Brother's Company
The 25-year veteran firefighter retired from the department last November.
www.miaminewtimes.com
August 25, 2025 at 4:17 PM
ICYMI: A federal judge has ordered the state of Florida to begin dismantling Alligator Alcatraz over environmental concerns.

Here are the main takeaways:

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/florida...
Florida Ordered to Tear Down Alligator Alcatraz: What to Know
The ruling prohibits the state from admitting new detainees to the site and requires officials to begin tearing it down.
www.miaminewtimes.com
August 22, 2025 at 3:29 PM
New: Florida keeps getting hotter — yet most state prisons remain without AC.

We spoke with six men at Everglades Correctional Institution about what it’s like to endure summers in an AC-less cell. www.miaminewtimes.com/news/life-in...
Inside an Everglades Prison Without Air Conditioning
Only about 25 percent of housing units in Florida's prisons are equipped with AC.
www.miaminewtimes.com
August 20, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Trump's border czar Tom Homan thinks immigration detention center names like "Alligator Alcatraz" make ICE look like a "joke."

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/trumps-...
Trump's Border Czar: Alligator Alcatraz Makes ICE Look Like a "Joke"
"People get caught up in the names, and they think it becomes a joke. I don't think what we're doing is a joke."
www.miaminewtimes.com
August 14, 2025 at 5:55 PM
More than 130 U.S. veterans are urging Florida Gov. DeSantis to halt executions of former service members.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/veteran...
Veterans Urge Florida Gov. DeSantis to Stop Executing Veterans
Florida has carried out nine executions so far this year — more than any other state.
www.miaminewtimes.com
August 13, 2025 at 1:58 PM
New: If an infectious disease like, say, COVID-19 is spreading at Alligator Alcatraz, Florida officials refuse to say so.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/florida...
Florida Officials Won't Say If COVID Is Spreading at Alligator Alcatraz
If there's an infectious disease spreading at the facility, the state refuses to say so.
www.miaminewtimes.com
August 11, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Videos show hundreds of cockroaches crawling along the walls, floors, and cages of dogs inside a Miami-Dade County animal shelter.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-d...
Video: Miami-Dade Animal Shelter Plagued by Roach Infestation
The county is asking the public for foster help next week while exterminators deal with the problem.
www.miaminewtimes.com
August 8, 2025 at 10:18 PM
New: Florida officials have repeatedly insisted Alligator Alcatraz would be temporary.

But several job postings describe it as a “long-term” operation.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/alligat...
Alligator Alcatraz Security Job Postings Hint at Long-Term Facility
State officials have repeatedly insisted the detention center would be temporary.
www.miaminewtimes.com
August 4, 2025 at 2:44 PM
New: Gov. DeSantis says deportation flights have officially begun from Alligator Alcatraz.

But while he didn’t name destinations, flight data shows two military planes left this week — one to Texas and one to Louisiana. www.miaminewtimes.com/news/militar...
Military Planes Appear to Fly Alligator Alcatraz Detainees to Texas, Louisiana
Flight tracking data appears to show that two military aircraft left the facility this week for Texas and Louisiana.
www.miaminewtimes.com
July 25, 2025 at 4:36 PM
NEW: South Florida deportations are quietly filling animal shelters.

It’s a largely hidden toll of Trump’s ongoing mass deportation efforts.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/south-f...
South Florida Deportations Are Quietly Filling Animal Shelters
It's a largely hidden toll of President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts.
www.miaminewtimes.com
July 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Reposted by Alex DeLuca
Migrants at Ice jail in Miami made to kneel to eat ‘like dogs’, report alleges www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Migrants at Ice jail in Miami made to kneel to eat ‘like dogs’, report alleges
Incident in which migrants were shackled with hands tied of one succession of alleged abuses at jails in Florida
www.theguardian.com
July 21, 2025 at 1:14 PM
🧵: Luis Carlos José Marcano Silva — a 26-year-old Venezuelan barber — was freed from El Salvador’s CECOT prison and sent back to Venezuela on Friday.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/venezue...
Venezuelan Man Released From El Salvador After Possibly Being Deported Over Tattoo
Luis Carlos José Marcano Silva, 26, was living in Bradenton, Florida, when he vanished into a foreign prison.
www.miaminewtimes.com
July 21, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Reposted by Alex DeLuca
Killer Train

A yearlong investigation by WLRN and the Miami Herald into Brightline Trains and the many deaths that they've been linked to in Florida

www.wlrn.org/killer-train...
July 15, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Alex DeLuca
"flight manifests for 3 legally contested deportation flights from Texas to El Salvador contain dozens of additional, unaccounted for passengers than a previously published Department of Homeland Security (DHS) list of people deported from the United States on those flights, 404 Media has learned."
Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador
Hacked data obtained by 404 Media reveals dozens more people on deportation flights to El Salvador who are unaccounted for. “We have not heard from these people’s families, so I think perhaps even they don’t know," one lawyer said.
www.404media.co
July 17, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The execs profiting from Alligator Alcatraz are quietly scrubbing their photos and bios from company websites.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/alligat...
Executives Cashing in on Alligator Alcatraz Hide Pics, Bios Online
The digital disappearing acts come as human rights advocates raise alarms about conditions at the remote site.
www.miaminewtimes.com
July 17, 2025 at 7:08 PM
A man posted TikToks from inside Alligator Alcatraz — showing off the dorms, a dining hall, and what appears to be some sort of mystery meat (or bread?).

He says it got him fired.

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/who-is-...
Florida Man Posted TikToks Inside Alligator Alcatraz. He Says They Got Him Fired.
As of July 9, his videos have racked up more than 2 million views.
www.miaminewtimes.com
July 9, 2025 at 6:28 PM
New from me:

In 1970, Friends of the Everglades stopped the Everglades Jetport. Now they're taking on “Alligator Alcatraz.”

www.miaminewtimes.com/news/friends...
Friends of the Everglades Files Lawsuit to Stop 'Alligator Alcatraz'
They stopped the Everglades Jetport in 1969. Now, they're battling 'Alligator Alcatraz.'
www.miaminewtimes.com
June 27, 2025 at 7:04 PM