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Alligator Alcatraz

Coordinates: 25°51′42″N 080°53′49″W / 25.86167°N 80.89694°W / 25.86167; -80.89694
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Not to be confused with Alcatraz Island.

Alligator Alcatraz
Donald Trump touring Alligator Alcatraz on July 1, 2025
Alligator Alcatraz is located in the United States
Alligator Alcatraz
Location in the United States
Alligator Alcatraz is located in Florida
Alligator Alcatraz
Location in Florida
LocationDade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, Big Cypress National Preserve, Ochopee, Florida, U.S.
Coordinates25°51′42″N 080°53′49″W / 25.86167°N 80.89694°W / 25.86167; -80.89694
StatusUnder construction
Security classImmigration detention center (proposed)
CapacityUp to 5,000
(projected)[1]
OpenedTarget date: July 2025 (est.)
Managed byFlorida Division of Emergency Management in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
This article is part of
a series about
Ron DeSantis
Personal
U.S. House of Representatives
46th Governor of Florida
Presidential campaigns

Alligator Alcatraz is an immigration detention facility erected at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport inside Big Cypress National Preserve in Ochopee, Florida.[2] Announced in June 2025 by Attorney General James Uthmeier and championed by Governor Ron DeSantis, it is located in the Everglades west of Miami.

The compound is designed to relieve pressure on federal immigration jails by housing up to 5,000 detainees in a remote area surrounded by alligator and python-filled wetlands.[3] The name alludes to both the local reptile population and the former maximum-security Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay, California.

Background

Immigration detention in the United States began in 1855 with the use of Castle Clinton on Manhattan (together with the Marine Hospital on Staten Island for quarantine) and relocated in the 1890s to Ellis Island.[4] In 2003, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) was created under the Department of Homeland Security. ICE enforces the United States' immigration and customs laws, with the primary role of using investigative techniques to apprehend and detain those suspected of violating them.[5]

In August 2015, during his 2016 campaign, Trump proposed the mass deportation of illegal immigrants as a part of his immigration policy.[6] Trump and supporters such as Stephen Miller have stated that illegal immigrants would be taken to "large-scale staging grounds near the border, most likely in Texas", to be held in internment camps prior to deportation.[7][8]

History

Governor DeSantis invoked a standing 2023 immigration "state of emergency" to seize the county-owned airfield and fast-track construction without the usual procurement or environmental reviews. The governor mobilized a team of private companies on June 21, 2025, to build the facility to house 5,000 detained illegal immigrants and deployed National Guard to secure the site.[9][10]

Uthmeier has described the 39-square-mile (100 km2) parcel as "the best natural perimeter money can’t buy," arguing that the surrounding Everglades wildlife offers a deterrent to escapees.[3] State officials have also argued that the facility's location and its susceptibility to hurricanes will encourage illegal immigrants to self-deport.[11] West of Miami, it is accessed by U.S. Route 41 (also known as the Tamiami Trail). The first group of immigrant detainees arrived on July 3, 2025, beginning the facility's operations.[12]

On June 27, 2025, a coalition led by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians filed suit in federal court seeking an injunction until a full environmental review and public-comment period are completed.[13] Plaintiffs argue the project threatens endangered species habitat and violates both the National Environmental Policy Act and tribal cultural-resource protections. State and federal officials have dismissed the filing as "routine delay tactics."[14]

Response

Governor DeSantis argued the facility will help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local jails cope with federal deportation policy,[3] while some Democratic legislators question the necessity of emergency powers, calling the project an overreach and environmental risk.[9]

Some critics have compared the facility to Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps, with some even referring to it as "Alligator Auschwitz".[15][16] Andrea Pitzer, author of One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps,[17] posted on her Bluesky account that the facility fit the criteria of a concentration camp, but criticized the moniker, writing "this facility is far from the universe of Auschwitz, where over a million were murdered", and warned against equating them.[18]

The facility's announcement led to a boost in campaign contributions for state Republicans, which led the Republican Party of Florida to begin marketing "Alligator Alcatraz" merchandise.[11]

President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem joined Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state leaders on Tuesday July 1, 2025, for the opening of the immigrant detention facility. Trump praised the new compound, saying, "It might be as good as the real Alcatraz."[19]

Talbert Cypress, chairman of the Miccosukee Business Council, noted that no environmental impact research had been done and that some native villages were within 900 feet (270 m) of the camp's entrance.[20] The Seminole tribe was likewise in opposition citing sacred lands.[21][22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Protesters line highway in Florida Everglades to oppose 'Alligator Alcatraz'". Associated Press. June 28, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  2. ^ "Alligator Alcatraz is no nickname. It's detention camp's official name". Tampa Bay Times. July 1, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Florida AG proposes 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention center in Everglades". ABC News/ABC-7 NY. June 29, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  4. ^ "TRAC-Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse". tracreports.org. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  5. ^ "Enforcement and Removal Operations | ICE". www.ice.gov. June 27, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  6. ^ Gass, Nick (August 17, 2015). "Trump's immigration plan: Mass deportation". Politico. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Brownstein, Ronald (February 8, 2024). "Trump's 'Knock on the Door'". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  8. ^ Graziosi, Graig (September 8, 2024). "Trump says his plan to expel millions of immigrants will be a 'bloody story'". The Independent. Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Ceballos, Ana; Ellenbogen, Romy; Harris, Alex (June 28, 2025). "DeSantis used his emergency powers to get 'Alligator Alcatraz' built". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  10. ^ Abarca, Francesca (July 1, 2025). "Trump at 'Alligator Alcatraz': Facts on Florida Everglades immigration detention center". The Palm Beach Post. Gannett Co., Inc.
  11. ^ a b "'Alligator Alcatraz' immigrant detention facility opens, with Trump in attendance". NBC News. July 1, 2025. Archived from the original on July 1, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  12. ^ Anderson, Curt; Payne, Kate (July 3, 2025). "First immigration detainees arrive at Florida center in the Everglades". AP News.
  13. ^ "Environmental groups sue to block migrant detention center rising in Florida Everglades". Associated Press. June 27, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  14. ^ "Environmental groups try blocking Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz' with last-minute lawsuit". Fox News. June 28, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  15. ^ Walsh, Joan (June 30, 2025). "The Abominable Sadism of "Alligator Auschwitz"". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  16. ^ Grant, Melissa. "The Grand Opening of an American Concentration Camp". The New Republic. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  17. ^ One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps. September 19, 2017. ISBN 978-1-4789-9114-4 – via bookshop.org.
  18. ^ "@andreapitzer.bsky.social on Bluesky". Bluesky Social.
  19. ^ Dixon, Matt; Gutierrez, Gabe (July 1, 2025). "'Alligator Alcatraz' immigrant detention facility opens, with Trump in attendance". NBC News.
  20. ^ "Florida tribe fights new 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant facility near Everglades homes". ABC News.
  21. ^ Goñi-Lessan, Ana. "Seminole Tribe of Florida joins opposition to 'Alligator Alcatraz' in Everglades". St. Augustine Record.
  22. ^ "Environmental and Indigenous Groups Mobilize to Stop 'Alligator Alcatraz' | Common Dreams". www.commondreams.org.

Friends of the Everglades, Inc. v. Noem (US District Court for the Southern District of Florida), 1:25-cv-22896

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