President Donald Trump will travel to Florida July 1 for the opening of a remote immigration detention facility in the Everglades — dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz” — designed to hold up to 5,000 illegal immigrants.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, authorized the facility under an emergency order as part of Trump’s broader immigration enforcement effort. The site will serve as a central hub for detaining, processing, and deporting thousands of illegal immigrants who entered the country under the Biden administration.
“The facility is in the heart of the Everglades and will be informally known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said June 30. “There's only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way flight. It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain.”
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“This is an efficient and low-cost way to help carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history,” Leavitt added.
Trump will join DeSantis, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for the launch.
“Alligator Alcatraz, and other facilities like it, will give us the capability to lock up some of the worst scumbags who entered our country under the previous administration,” Noem wrote on X, praising the facility. “I will continue to stand alongside our officers as they protect and defend our homeland.”
Located at the remote Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, the facility has already drawn protests from environmental groups and activists. Opponents claim the site threatens the Everglades ecosystem and filed an emergency lawsuit to halt construction. The case remains pending in federal court.
Last week, protesters gathered along Highway 41 with signs reading “No Alligator Alcatraz” and “Stop Abusing the Everglades,” FOX News reported.
Despite the criticism, Florida and federal officials say the site will serve as a model for efficient enforcement.
Touring the grounds last week, DeSantis said, “This is as secure as it gets. If a criminal were to escape from here somehow, and I don’t think they will, you’ve got nowhere to go.”