On Tuesday, President Trump toured the opening of a new detention facility in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The 39-square-mile site can house more than 5,000 detainees and is invested with pythons, alligators and other wildlife. It rests on an abandoned airport in the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area, about 50 miles west of Miami-Dade County.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says it’s all part of the president’s mass deportation plan, responding to the need for more detention centers.
“We would not have agreed to do it at that site if I thought that somehow it was negatively impact all the great work we’ve done on improving and restoring the Everglades,” DeSantis said.
The Department of Homeland Security posted an AI generated image of alligators at the site wearing hats that spell out ICE, or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
However, several protestors oppose the plan, saying it is harming the ecosystem and species of the Everglades.
“We depend on this clean water,” said former State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez. “We depend on this ecosystem.”
Environmental organization Friends of the Everglades filed a lawsuit last Friday against federal, state and county officials. The suit halts the construction of the facility, saying it’s destroying the land.
“They’re using sacred land for such a sinister and vile end goal,” said protestor Giancarlo Castellanos. “Which is not ok.”
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is also concerned for its environmental impact.
“The rapid pace of this effort has provided little opportunity for due diligence given the potential significant impacts to our community,” said Cava in a statement.
The facility is set to cost $450 million a year and reimbursements will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
DeSantis is considering the possibility of adding another detention center near Jacksonville, at a national guard training center.
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