Everglades "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention center to receive first arrivals
The first group of immigrants was scheduled to arrive Wednesday night at a new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that officials have dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," the state's attorney general said.
"Alligator Alcatraz will be checking in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens tonight," Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said on the X social media platform. "Next stop: back to where they came from."
It wasn't immediately clear precisely when the detainees would arrive or where they were coming from. They were being brought to the facility on buses, officials said.
The facility, at an airport used for training, will have a capacity of about 3,000 detainees when fully operational, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis said. The center was built in eight days over 10 miles of Everglades. It features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet of barbed wire and 400 security personnel.
Immigrants who are arrested by Florida law enforcement officers under the federal government's 287(g) program will be taken to the facility, according to a Trump administration official. The program is led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and allows police officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation.
The facility is expected to be operating with 500 to 1,000 beds within days, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the details of the detention facility. It is then supposed to be expanded in 500 bed increments until it has an estimated 5,000 beds by early July.
Environmental groups and Native American tribes have protested against the center, contending it is a threat to the fragile Everglades system, would be cruel to detainees because of heat and mosquitoes, and is on land the tribes consider sacred.
It's also located at a place prone to frequent heavy rains, which caused some flooding in the tents Tuesday during a visit by President Donald Trump to mark its opening. State officials say the complex can withstand a Category 2 hurricane, which packs winds of between 96 and 110 mph (154 and 177 kph), and that contractors worked overnight to shore up areas where flooding occurred.
DeSantis and other state officials say locating the facility in the rugged and remote Florida Everglades is meant as a deterrent, and naming it after the notorious federal prison of Alcatraz, an island fortress known for its brutal conditions, is meant to send a message. It's another sign of how the Trump administration and its allies are relying on scare tactics to try to persuade people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily.
State and federal officials have touted the plans on social media and conservative airwaves, sharing a meme of a compound ringed with barbed wire and "guarded" by alligators wearing hats labeled "ICE" for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Republican Party of Florida has taken to fundraising off the detention center, selling branded T-shirts and beer koozies emblazoned with the facility's name.
Critics push back
Critics argue the facility poses a hazard to the surrounding environment and presents safety concerns for detainees. especially after recent rounds of rain caused flooding in some areas.
CBS News Miami's Joan Murray reported from the Everglades, where she spoke with a Miccosukee tribal leader who emphasized concerns about flooding and health risks.
"For us, our medicine is in this land, and we feel it has protected us, so we need to protect it," said Miccosukee tribal leader James Osceola. He worries about the environmental and wildlife impact of the new immigration detention center built in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
He has spent significant time on the edge of the airfield, which is regarded as sacred land and says flooding there is common.
"They're in the process of elevating the highway, and we've been trying to get our camps and homes raised. This has been an issue for decades."
Rainwater seeping into tents
On Tuesday, rainwater seeped into one of the holding tents.
On Wednesday, Stephanie Hartman, Deputy Director of Communications with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, issued the following statement:
"Overnight, the vendors went back and tightened any seams at the base of the structures that allowed water intrusion during the heavy storm, which was minimal."
"The timing of detainee arrivals at the detention facility will be determined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Florida stands ready to support federal operations as needed, and the state has ensured the facility is prepared to receive individuals once DHS and ICE finalize transportation logistics and scheduling."
