Florida began construction Monday on a detention facility for illegal immigrants in the heart of the Everglades that officials are calling “Alligator Alcatraz” — because it will be surrounded by water and swamps filled with alligators and pythons to provide natural security.
The Trump administration approved the project Tuesday afternoon as part of efforts to expand detention capacity for the president’s mass deportation agenda.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the facility will be built on a “virtually abandoned airport facility” at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, located 36 miles west of Miami and six miles north of Everglades National Park.
“You don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter. If people get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons,” Uthmeier said on social media. “Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.”
The site spans between 30 to 39 square miles and contains a runway of approximately 10,500 to 11,000 feet. The facilities capacity could range from 1,000 to 5,000 beds for what Uthmeier describes as “criminal aliens.”
Uthmeier said the facility represents “an efficient, low-cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility” that can be completed in 30 to 60 days using “light infrastructure” including heavy-duty tents and trailers. The Florida National Guard will help operate the site, which officials say will be ready by the first week of July.
“The governor tasked state leaders to identify places for new temporary detention facilities. I think this is the best one: as I call it, ‘Alligator Alcatraz,'” Uthmeier said, and promised detainees would receive proper legal proceedings before being deported.
“We’ll give them the due process that all these courts say they need,” he explained.
The project will cost approximately $450 million per year to operate, according to reports, but can be reimbursed at least partially through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Shelter and Services Program, which has $625 million available.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised Florida’s plan.
“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. We will expand facilities and bed space in just days, thanks to our partnership with Florida,” she said.
The facility addresses critical capacity shortages as ICE detention centers currently hold roughly 53,000 illegal immigrants, well beyond the 41,500 beds funded by Congress at $3.4 billion. The agency is already $1 billion over budget as the White House increased daily arrest quotas from 1,800 to 3,000.