‘Alligator Alcatraz’: Trump opens Everglades detention center
President Trump toured the new Florida detention center on Tuesday
As President Trump ramps up his immigration crackdown, the first wave of immigrant detainees arrived Wednesday night at a newly opened detention center in Florida’s Everglades, in what is referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
“Alligator Alcatraz will be checking in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens tonight,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who was the originator of the facility, posted on X. “Next stop: back to where they came from.”
The facility, located on what was the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, is named after the wild animal that inhabits the Everglades, and Alcatraz, the infamous island prison that sits offshore of San Francisco.
On Tuesday, Trump alongside Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons toured the facility.
Before leaving for the detention center, Trump jokingly told reporters he was going to “teach [immigrant detainees] how to run away from an alligator.”
“Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this,” Trump said while motioning a zigzag with his hand. “And you know what? Your chances go up about 1%.”
What is inside the facility?
Built in just eight days, the facility was constructed using tents and trailers. The detention center is expected to hold up to 3,000 detainees, Gov. DeSantis said.
The facility contains more than 200 security cameras, 28,000 feet of barbed wire and 400 security personnel, according to CBS News.
“We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is, really, deportation,” Trump said. “This is an amazing thing they’ve done here.
Basic utilities like water, electricity and sewage will be provided by mobile equipment, according to the governor’s office.
The facility also includes access to medical care, air conditioning, a rec yard and assistance from attorneys and members of the clergy, according to the Associated Press.
In its first year, Florida taxpayers will cover an estimated $450 million to keep the facility operating. But according to DHS, the state is seeking reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Shelter and Service Program.
“We took the money that Joe Biden allocated to pay for the free luxury hotel rooms where he was paying hundreds of millions of dollars in New York City, and we used it to build this project,” Trump said during a roundtable.
Safety and environmental concerns arise
As hurricane season is underway, Florida Executive Director of Emergency Management Kevin Guthrie addressed concerns at the roundtable, claiming that the facility can withstand Category 2 winds. He also added that the facility has a plan in the event of a hurricane.
However, a rainstorm occurred shortly after Trump’s visit, leading to minor flooding inside the facility. A video from inside one of the tents shows water seeping under a flagpole that holds the U.S. flag.
“Overnight, the vendors went back and tightened any seams at the base of the structures that allowed water intrusion during the heavy storm, which was minimal,” Stephanie Hartman, Deputy Director of Communications with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said in a statement.
Days before the facility opened, Native Americans led a protest with environmental advocates outside the facility to condemn the facility’s construction. Indigenous leaders consider the area as their sacred land. At least 15 traditional Miccosukee and Seminole villages, along with ceremonial and burial grounds, remain near the facility, according to CNN.
On Friday, environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Friends of the Everglades, filed a lawsuit to block the detention center.
“This site is more than 96% wetlands, surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve, and is habitat for the endangered Florida panther and other iconic species,” Eve Samples, Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades, said in a press release. “This scheme is not only cruel, it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect.”
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