In a surprising and possibly unlawful act, five state legislators were denied entry Thursday into a taxpayer-funded migrant detention center deep in the Everglades, raising questions about what will happen behind the razor-wire fences that are being erected surrounding the controversial facility the state has named Alligator Alcatraz.

A group of Florida Democratic state lawmakers was blocked from entering the Alligator Alcatraz immigrant detention facility in the Everglades Thursday, despite citing legal authority for an official legislative site visit.