The first group of immigrants arrived at a new detention center deep in Florida’s Everglades. This was called “Crocodile Alcatraz,” a spokesman for Republican State Attorney General James Usmieryer.
“People are there,” Spokesperson Jay Williams said, but he didn’t immediately provide details about the number of detainees or when they arrived.
“Next destination: go back to where they came from,” Usmeyer told X social media platform on Wednesday. He is recognized as the architect behind the Everglades proposal.
“Staying up at a record time under @govrondesantis’ leadership, Florida is proud to promote @RealdonaldTrump’s mission to enforce the immigration laws of @RealdonaldTrump, a Florida emergency management account posted on social media site X on Thursday. Requests for additional information from Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ office, which is building the site, but was not returned early Thursday afternoon.
DeSantis said the airport facility used for training has the initial capacity of around 3,000 detainees. The center will be built in eight days and features over 200 security cameras, over 28,000 feet of barbed wire and 400 security personnel.
According to officials in President Donald Trump’s administration, immigrants arrested by Florida law enforcement officials under the federal government’s 287(g) program will be taken to the facility. The program is led by immigration and customs enforcement, allowing police officers to question immigrants under custody and detain them for potential deportation.
The facility is expected to expand in increments of 500 beds until there are an estimated 5,000 beds by early July.
A group of Democrats in Florida headed to the facility on Thursday to carry out a “official legislative site visit,” citing concerns about the terms of detainees and awarding millions of dollars in state contracts for construction.
“As lawmakers, we have both a legal right and a moral responsibility to expose this abuse before we inspect this site, demand answers and make this abuse a national blueprint,” the lawmaker said in a joint statement before the visit.
The federal agency signalled Thursday opposed a lawsuit filed by environmental groups seeking to halt operations at the detention center. Trump praised the Center on his official tour earlier this week, but said the submission on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security appears to be trying to distance his administration from the facility, and that federal money has not been spent on it so far.
“DHS does not implement, approve, direct or fund Florida Temporary Detention Centers. Florida uses state funds on state land under the state’s emergency department to build and operate facilities, and has already general mandated federal authorities to implement immigration functions.
Human rights advocates and Native American tribes have also protested the Center, claiming that it is a threat to the fragile Everglades system, cruel to detainees because of the heat and mosquitoes, and that they are on lands that the tribe considers to be sacred.
It is also located in a prone to heavy rainfall, causing flooding in the tents on Tuesday when President Donald Trump visited to mark the opening. State officials say the complex was able to withstand a Category 2 hurricane packing winds between 96 and 110 mph (154 and 177 kph), and contractors worked overnight to reinforce flooded areas.
Images shared with the Associated Press, overnight Wednesday, workers placed new indications labeled “Alligator Alcatraz” along the only highway leading to the property outside the entrance to the airfield known as the Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport. State officials seized the county-owned land on which the facility is located, using an emergency approved by an executive order issued by the governor.
DeSantis and other state officials intend to send messages by name after the infamous federal prison of Alcatraz, an island fortress known for its brutal circumstances, to find a facility in the Florida Everglades, a deterrent. It’s another indication of how the Trump administration and its allies are relying on scary tactics to illegally persuade people in the country to leave voluntarily.
State and federal officials promote social media and conservative radio programs, sharing memes of compounds that have been “secured” by crocodiles who ring with barbed wire and hats labeled “ice” for immigration and customs enforcement. The Florida Republicans raised funds from the detention center and sold branded T-shirts and beer coozy decorated with the facility’s name.
Anderson reported from St. Petersburg, Florida. Payne reported from Tallahassee, Florida. Associated Press reporter Gisela Salomon from Miami contributed.
