“They love our food but hate our people”: Immigrant-owned food trucks face backlash for serving Alligator Alcatraz
Four food trucks are under fire after they were spotted entering the controversial detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz.
A TikTok from @osozalez shows trucks representing Kona Ice, Churromania, Elote Lovers, and Ms. Cheezious pulling up to the location on its first official day of operation, July 1, 2025.
"They love our food but hate [our] people," reads the caption, alongside a call for a boycott of the trucks in question.
@osozalez Boycott Kona Ice, Churro Mania, Elote Lovers & Ms.Cheezious. They love our food but hate out people ????#alligatoralcatraz #FlEverglades #everglades #florida #dadecounty #miami #NaplesFl #Naples #colliercounty ♬ Suspense, horror, piano and music box - takaya
What is Alligator Alcatraz?
Alligator Alcatraz is a temporary detention center in the Florida Everglades intended to hold immigrants suspected to be in the U.S. illegally. It's become a hotbed of controversy for a number of reasons, ranging from humanitarian concerns, the potential threat it poses to the surrounding environment, and the ghoulish glee some conservatives have expressed online at the idea of detainees getting eaten by nearby alligators.
The food trucks face backlash
The idea of food trucks showing up to such a facility felt surreal to many people, especially as it gave the impression of some celebratory grand opening. This further pushed the ongoing notion that Republican politicians and those working to deport immigrants—some of whom actually are in the country legally—have zero empathy for the lives and families that are being ripped apart in the process.
As a result, the food trucks themselves have faced serious backlash following the viral video.
"The audacity Kona Ice has to show up in my local charter school events that is mostly Hispanic/Latino population is insane," one viewer commented. "Never again."
"Any of these food trucks that are helping to feed the people that are building a modern concentration camp should be blacklisted," wrote another.
The fact that two of these food trucks specifically serve cuisine from south of the border added another layer of disgust and disbelief to the criticisms. Elote Lovers' website boasts that they began as a "family-owned food truck business" called Miami Roasted Corn back in 2011, while Churromania actually originated in Venezuela with Ariel Acosta-Rubio and his wife, Maria Alejandra Bravo. They later expanded to the U.S. and, according to his LinkedIn, Acosta-Rubio currently lives in Miami, Florida.
"How can they turn against their people?" a viewer who expressed they were "disgusted" by Churromania's participation asked.
The food trucks respond
Ultimately, each company behind the food trucks responded to the backlash regarding their presence at Alligator Alcatraz, although none of the responses were well received.
Ms. Cheezious complained about "misleading online narratives."
Kona Ice stressed that they are a franchise, that the specific franchisee "was unaware of the facility's nature or its association with politically sensitive issues," and that the company itself "does not take a political stance."
Churromania said that they "have no political agenda, and never have," and at least acknowledged that many of its workers are immigrants.
Elote Lovers confirmed that the company was founded by an immigrant family and asserted that they "do not align with any political or ideological agenda."
Unfortunately for these companies, Americans who oppose ICE, mass deportations, and the Trump administration's cheerful cruelty aren't so willing to accept claims of political neutrality in the face of humanitarian crises anymore.
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