President Donald Trump visited the newly opened migrant detention center deep in the Florida Everglades on Tuesday, hailing the isolated facility as a model for future deportation efforts.
Nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” the site is surrounded by swamp, wildlife, and a single access road. “There’s only one way in and one way out,” said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “This is an efficient, low-cost facility for mass deportation.”
.@Sec_Noem: "People don't have to come here. If they self-deport and go home, they can come back legally." @POTUS: "And there is a lot of self-deportation."@Sec_Noem: "But if you wait and we bring you to this facility, you don't ever get to come back to America." pic.twitter.com/izpsXn0AYw
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 1, 2025
Trump praised the setup, joking that “you don’t have to pay the alligators,” calling it a secure and cost-effective solution. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the first detainees could arrive within 24 hours following a security sweep.
DeSantis and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem emphasized the facility’s deterrent effect. “People will deport themselves,” DeSantis said. Trump added the model could be replicated in other states.
The facility is part of Trump’s broader push for a new spending bill to fund his mass deportation initiative.
