OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:38 PM – Tuesday, July 1, 2025
President Donald Trump toured the newly established “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades on Tuesday, prior to its “grand opening.”
The facility offers 3,000 beds and is set to serve as a temporary detention facility for illegal aliens who are set to be deported.
In addition to the 47th president, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem paid a visit and toured the facility as well.
The facility is uniquely positioned in the Florida Everglades, which is known for its extreme terrain and wildlife. The facility is located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, which conveniently features an open runway — allowing for easy transportation.
Alligators in the Everglades feed themselves on the native wildlife, such as fish, mammals, birds. The gators are wild and self-sustaining.
“I thought this was so professional, so well done,” Trump said about the facility. “It is really government working together.”
“Snakes are fast but alligators – we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator. Don’t run in a straight life, run like this,” he continued to joke, demonstrating a zigzag formation.
Trump went on to explain that “some of the most vicious people on the planet” will be held at the facility.
“We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation.”
Florida officials also emphasized that the facility features “at least 200 security cameras, 28,000 feet of barbed wire, and over 400 security personnel.”
During the visit, DeSantis detailed how the facility will operate.
“You’ll be able to bring people in, they’ll get processed, they have an order of removal, then they can be queued and the federal government can fly — right on the runway, right there, you literally drive them 2,000 feet, put them on a plane and then they’re gone.”
“They aint going anywhere once they’re there, unless you want them to go somewhere,” DeSantis continued. “Because good luck getting to civilization. So the security is amazing – natural and otherwise.”
Similar to the Trump administration’s initiative to combat illegal immigration, the Florida governor also urged illegals to “self-deport,” rather than go through the strenuous and pricey process of deportation through temporary detention facilities — such as Alligator Alcatraz.
“Why would you want to come through ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ if you can just go home on your own?” DeSantis stated. “I think a lot of people are going to make that decision.”
Illegal aliens are also incentivized to self-deport due to the potential of returning to the United States legally, whereas individuals who do not voluntarily self-deport will most likely “never get the chance to come back.”
The facility is expected to begin housing illegal aliens on Wednesday, as President Trump had voiced that he would like to see similar temporary housing facilities constructed in “many states.”
The facility is expected to cost around $450 million for one year, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The majority of the cost will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency — largely utilizing the same funds the previous Biden administration took to provide housing, food, and medical care for migrants claiming asylum.
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