Florida built a detention facility on a virtually abandoned airfield in the Florida Everglades, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The camp’s opening today is set to turbo speed Trump’s mandate for mass deportations.
Trump visited the camp during its opening, where “Alligator Alcatraz” merch, such as hats and T-shirts, were given to attendees. The swamp-surrounded facility has over 200 cameras and holds a maximum capacity of 3,000 detainees, 1,000 staff members, and 400 security personal.
Alligator Alcatraz flooded later in the day due to light rain.
Estimated to cost nearly half a billion dollars to run annually, the facility will house migrants picked up in other parts of the country, making Florida a transitory holding state for migrant deportation. The money that will partially help fund the migrant deportation camp is from FEMA, funds that were originally used to help house migrants going through the immigration court system.
The project was spearheaded by Trump loyalist and Florida attorney general James Uthmeier. Uthmeier said “There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Only the alligators and the pythons are waiting.”
The federal government approved plans for the facility on June 23, 2025. It’s ready only eight days later.
The camp is primarily composed of tent and trailer facilities, making it susceptible to Florida’s harsh heat and extreme summer rains; on it’s first day of opening, the facility experienced flooding due to light rain.
