Watch: Trump Tours Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ Launches Mass Deportation Plan
President Trump’s visit to the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center in Florida’s Everglades highlights his mass deportation push, while new activity at Iran’s Fordow nuclear site signals escalating global tensions. The facility, built rapidly to detain 5,000 migrants, faces environmental and humanitarian criticism but is hailed as a model for nationwide expansion.
President Donald Trump visited the newly built “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, 45 miles west of Miami in Florida’s Everglades. The facility, constructed in just eight days, is designed to hold up to 5,000 detainees as part of Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda, aiming for 3,000 daily ICE arrests nationwide. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined Trump, praising the site’s efficiency. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who named it “Alligator Alcatraz,” described it as a “one-stop shop” for detaining, processing, and deporting migrants, leveraging the airfield’s runway and natural barriers like alligator- and python-infested swamps. Conservative commentator Benny Johnson, after touring the facility, called it a “Jurassic Park style” complex with 30-foot walls, razor wire, and armed guards, noting that with DOJ approval to deputize National Guard as immigration judges, it could be “the most efficient deportation center in American history.”
The $450 million annual cost, largely funded by FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program, has sparked controversy. Environmentalists, including Friends of the Everglades, filed lawsuits citing risks to the Big Cypress National Preserve’s ecosystem, home to endangered Florida panthers. Miccosukee Tribe member Betty Osceola condemned the use of sacred lands, drawing parallels to historical Native American displacements. The Florida Immigrant Coalition criticized potential inhumane conditions in the tent-based facility. DeSantis announced plans for another site at Camp Blanding, aiming for 2,000 additional beds. Trump, dismissing environmental concerns, said, “We’d like to see them in many states,” envisioning a national model. Meanwhile, satellite imagery revealed renewed activity at Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, damaged in a 2024 U.S. strike, raising global security concerns as Trump’s administration balances domestic and international challenges.
Conservative host Charlie Kirk defended the facility on X, stating, “You may think Alligator Alcatraz is a bit much... But each leads to thousands and eventually millions of self-deportations. When illegals know there are real consequences for breaking into America, many, perhaps a majority will conclude it’s no longer worth the risk and return home.” The Department of Homeland Security echoed, “We are working on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations.”