Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that deportation flights have begun from the Everglades-based immigration facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Operated by the Department of Homeland Security, the center has already transferred around 100 detainees to undisclosed foreign destinations.
“I think you're going to see the numbers go up dramatically,” DeSantis said at a press conference near the remote site, located 50 miles west of Miami.
The facility, built in just eight days over 10 square miles of the Everglades, currently holds about 2,000 detainees and has the capacity to double. With 400 security personnel, over 200 cameras, and 5 miles of barbed wire, the center was designed to deter unlawful entry into the U.S.
DeSantis and other Republicans see it as part of a firm immigration enforcement agenda aligned with President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
