Trump tours Florida migrant detention center 'Alligator Alcatraz' with Gov. Ron DeSantis
The first photos of “Alligator Alcatraz” give a bleak inside look at the new migrant center deep in the Florida Everglades — as authorities prepare to stash up to 5,000 detainees in wire cages there. Video taken during a tour by President Trump on Tuesday revealed rows upon rows of empty industrial metal bunk beds enclosed in hastily constructed cages made up of chain fences.
“ Biden wanted me in here, that son of a b—h,” President Trump said jokingly Tuesday as he was shown around the vast secure facility hidden within the subtropical wetlands of South Florida teeming with alligators, crocodiles and pythons.Metal bunk beds in wire cages line the inside of “Alligator Alcatraz,” the new migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades.“I looked outside, and that’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon,” Trump told reporters after his tour. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation.” The complex, located at the Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport, will cost an estimated $450 million a year to operate, and the first migrants are set to arrive as soon as Wednesday. Trump says ‘son of a bitch’ Biden ‘wanted me in here’ while touring newly opened Alligator Alcatraz lockup US captured cannibal illegal migrant who tried to eat his own arms during deportation flight, Kristi Noem reveals in wild press conferenceSome of the cost of the facility — which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said was built in just eight days — will be reimbursed from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program, officials said. The site features at least 200 security cameras, 28,000 feet of barbed wire and more than 400 security personnel, officials said. Dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” or “Gator Gitmo,” the state-built facility in Florida’s infamous Alligator Alley aims to help ICE reach its migrant deportation targets.It lies in the middle of Route 41 — the road that crosses the south of the Sunshine State from Miami to Naples. “There’s only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way flight,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday ahead of President Trump’s visit. “It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain.”Former President Obama said jokingly in 2011 that Republicans were so hardline, they would demand to use alligators to deter illegal immigrants — and Trump and DeSantis have now made that a reality. The Trump administration has played up the dangerous gator-infested surroundings of the center, sharing memes of alligators wearing ICE hats on Department of Homeland Security social-media accounts and even selling “Alligator Alcatraz”-related merchandise. Around 100 National Guard troops will be sent to the site about 37 miles from Miami to help provide security, DeSantis said Tuesday.“We’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator, OK, if they escape from prison,” he said. “How to run away. Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this,” he added, making zigzag motions with his hands. Opponents have slammed the scheme as inhumane, with one X user comparing footage of the site to “a concentration camp” and adding that they couldn’t see any air conditioning or vents inside the facility.President Donald Trump and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visit the temporary migrant detention center informally known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem get a look at the bunk beds at the temporary migrant detention center informally known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during the opening of a temporary migrant detention center informally known as “Alligator Alcatraz” in Ochopee, Florida, U.S., July 1, 2025.But government officials insist the site will have 24/7 air conditioning to survive the sweltering Florida heat and humidity. Environmental groups have also criticized the new facility, claiming it would damage endangered and threatened species that call the Everglades home. They have called on Florida to make an environmental assessment before continuing with the project. But Florida state officials argued that the law under which the groups are suing doesn’t apply to them but only to the federal government, according to court documents The local airport is already in full-time use, Florida argued, handling about 28,000 flights in the past six months with two buildings lit 24 hours a day. Trump has called for similar detention facilities to spring up all over the country, forming a network of sites across the US. “I would like to see them in many states. Really, many states. And you know, at some point, they might morph into a system,” he said.Cruise passenger recalls harrowing sounds when young girl fell off ship before hero dad saved her Bryan Kohberger’s plea deal lets him off the hook in one key area as victims’ families fume over shocking decisionKaty Perry nearly falls out of suspended metal sphere during scary concert malfunctionR.I.P. Kylie Page: Adult Film Star Seen In Netflix’s ‘Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On’ Series Dead At 28 ‘The View’ Censored Walton Goggins’ Speedo Photo: “Reveals Too Much Of His Walton And Both Of His Goggins,” According To Joy BeharMariska Hargitay Recalls How “Devastated” She Was Following The News Of Christopher Meloni’s ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Exit: “I Tried Everything I Could To Fix It And Change It”Metal bunk beds in wire cages line the inside of"Alligator Alcatraz," the new migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades.President Donald Trump and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visit the temporary migrant detention center informally known as"Alligator Alcatraz."President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem get a look at the bunk beds at the temporary migrant detention center informally known as"Alligator Alcatraz."President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during the opening of a temporary migrant detention center informally known as"Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Florida, U.S., July 1, 2025.
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Trump to attend opening of controversial 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center in FloridaPresident Donald Trump plans to attend the opening of 'Alligator Alcatraz' in Florida on Tuesday.
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Trump will visit a remote immigration detention site in the Florida EvergladesThe center is informally known as 'Alligator Alcatraz.'
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Trump will visit a remote immigration detention site in the Florida EvergladesThe center is informally known as 'Alligator Alcatraz.'
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