Ahead of the attempted site visit, the Democratic lawmakers said, "As lawmakers, we have both the legal right and moral responsibility to inspect this site.

Florida lawmakers argued state law grants elected officials access to inspect state-operated facilities without approval, but the Florida Division of Emergency Management denied their request.

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.