Florida has embarked on an ambitious project to build a migrant detention center in the Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” despite concerns about the potential environmental impact.
The facility, to be constructed on the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, will hold up to 1,000 migrants and is expected to cost around $450 million annually to operate.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem emphasized that the facility is part of a broader effort to deliver on a campaign pledge to ramp up deportations of undocumented migrants.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens,” she said. “We will expand facilities and bed space in just days, thanks to our partnership with Florida.”
Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier pitched the idea of “Alligator Alcatraz” as a cost-effective solution, highlighting the airport’s remote location as a natural deterrent for potential escapees. “When people get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons.
Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide,” he said in a video posted online. Uthmeier also mentioned that the facility could be built within 30 to 60 days, emphasizing the state’s urgency in addressing immigration issues.¹
However, not everyone is convinced about the merits of this project. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava expressed concerns about the potential environmental impact, stating that “the impacts to the Everglades ecosystem could be devastating.”
The Everglades are a unique and ecologically sensitive region, comprising marshes, prairies, forests, mangroves, and estuaries. Uthmeier has assured that the facility will not be located within the Everglades National Park, but critics remain skeptical about the project’s long-term implications.
The proposal to build “Alligator Alcatraz” is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to increase deportations and strengthen border security.
The US Supreme Court has recently allowed the Trump administration to resume deportations to third countries, handing a victory to the administration in its pursuit of mass deportations.
As the debate around immigration policy continues, the fate of the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center remains uncertain, with proponents and critics weighing in on its potential impact on the environment and immigration enforcement.