Alligator Alcatraz: the new symbol of Trump and DeSantis’ immigration crackdown

President Donald Trump traveled to Florida on Tuesday, July 1, to visit a newly opened ICE detention center, which the White House has dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The facility is located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, situated within the Big Cypress National Preserve, just north of Everglades National Park.

The fact that the facility will be located at an airport is seen as a major advantage by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

“So you’ll be able to bring people in, they’ll get processed, they have an order of removal, then they can be queued and the federal government can fly — right on the runway, right there, you literally drive them 2,000 feet, put them on a plane and then they’re gone,” explained DeSantis during Tuesday’s press conference where he appeared alongside Presidnet Trump.

The opening of the facility has drawn sharp criticism from immigration rights advocates, environmental groups, and tribal communities, who live in the area but have little power to determine how the land is used.

The Miccosukee Tribe’s leaders have voiced their opposition to the center’s location, with the Office of the Chairman releasing a statement that attacks the location as wasteful and damaging. “The state would have saved substantial taxpayer dollars by pursuing its goal at a different location with more existing infrastructure and less environmental and cultural impacts to the Big Cypress and Tribal lands.”

Located deep in Florida’s swamplands, the site is considered highly vulnerable to hurricanes, which poses additional questions of how migrants would be evacuated in case of an emergency. Critics argue that the remote and hazardous location raises serious concerns about safety and accessibility.

The facility has been described as a “tent city”

Despite the typically slow pace of federal projects, the Department of Homeland Security approved the facility just last week. Following the president’s visit, the center is expected to begin receiving migrants detained by ICE. The detention center is designed to house up to 3,000 people, said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Although the facility is projected to cost approximately $450 million annually to operate, it has been described as a “tent city,” reflecting the speed and simplicity of its construction. Videos circulating online show chain-linked fences that create separate rooms that are packed with bunk beds in what looks like a warehouse.

Administration officials have highlighted their “security features,” which reportedly include a perimeter surrounded by alligators, arguing that it will be much harder to escape.

Located deep in Florida’s swamplands, the site is considered highly vulnerable to hurricanes, which poses additional questions of how migrants would be evacuated in case of an emergency. Critics argue that the remote and hazardous location raises serious concerns about safety and accessibility.

ICE detention centers are way over capacity

The launch of the new facility comes amid growing concerns over conditions in ICE detention centers. The number of deaths in ICE custody has surpassed 13 this year—already exceeding the total for all of 2024. According to The Guardian, around 56,000 people are currently held in ICE facilities nationwide, despite a system capacity of only 41,000. This overcrowding has led to a further deterioration of conditions, which were already strained by a surge in arrests.

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