‘Alligator Alcatraz’: What to know about Florida’s new controversial migrant detention facility
- On July 1, 2025, President Donald Trump visited the newly established migrant detention facility known as 'Alligator Alcatraz,' located near the airstrip in Ochopee within the Florida Everglades.
- The center was fast-tracked by Governor Ron DeSantis using emergency powers to convert the airport into a facility to hold up to 5,000 detainees amid shifting immigration enforcement priorities and increased arrests.
- The detention site features tents, trailers, medical facilities, 400 personnel, and extensive security measures, and it is surrounded by swampland inhabited by alligators and pythons acting as natural barriers.
- Trump described the facility as "beautiful," asserted that it would detain some of the most dangerous individuals globally, stated that deportation is essentially the only option for release, and humorously remarked about teaching detainees to evade alligators if they try to escape.
- Demonstrations against the center have been organized by environmental advocates and Indigenous communities, who express concerns about the impact on ancestral territories and the Everglades' ecosystem, while legal action has been initiated to stop construction due to environmental issues.
44 Articles
44 Articles
In the Everglades, stands a detention center for migrants surrounded by alligators, symbol of the new ultra-repressive course of the U.S. administration, between propaganda, human rights controversy and environmental fears
The construction of this new detention centre in Florida is unworthy of the critics of Donald Trump's brutal migration policy, who call the site "inhumane".
'Preposterous': Dem slams 'Alligator Alcatraz' self deportation claims
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) on Tuesday slammed claims that "Alligator Alcatraz" will cause immigrants to self-deport. Earlier in the day, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned immigrants that they should "self-deport," otherwise they risk the chance of being sent to the 3,000-bed facility in the Florida Everglades. Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis also described the facility as a deterrent for illegal immigr…
Alligator Alcatraz allows ICE to 'target more criminals': Homan
(NewsNation) — Border czar Tom Homan believes "Alligator Alcatraz" will solve several problems for the administration. Homan joined "CUOMO" to discuss the new detention center following President Trump's visit to the facility Tuesday. Homan described the facility as "key for ... criminal aliens, those are a threat to public safety." ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ plan lacks transparency: Environmental advocate "Everybody we arrest, we need a bed, be…
What to know about the controversial detention center in Florida known as "Alligator Alcatraz"
President Trump is going to Florida on Tuesday to inspect the site of a new migrant detention center in the middle of the Everglades. Known as "Alligator Alcatraz," the site is surrounded by dangerous wildlife. CBS News' Manuel Bojorquez reports.
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