"Alcatraz of the Alligators" receives first group of detained immigrants

The Florida detention center for illegal immigrants known as the "Alcatraz of Alligators" because it is located in an area infested with predatory animals received its first group of detainees on Wednesday, the state attorney general said.

"The Alcatraz of Alligators will be checking in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens tonight," Florida's Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said on the social network X. "Next stop: back to where they came from," he said, referring to their deportation from the United States.

The center was set up in just eight days on an airstrip in the Everglades swamp region.

It has more than 200 security cameras, more than 8,500 meters of barbed wire and 400 security agents.

US President Donald Trump attended the inauguration of the detention center on Tuesday, joking that immigrants who try to flee the facility run the risk of being attacked by wild animals.

When asked by reporters whether the purpose of the immigration detention center was to have them attacked by reptiles if they escaped, Donald Trump responded: "That's the concept."

"Snakes are fast, but alligators (...). Let's teach them how to run away from an alligator, okay?", Trump said, in a joking tone.

State officials said the “Alcatraz of Alligators,” a facility they described as temporary, would feature tents and trailers, allowing the state to add 5,000 immigration detention beds by early July and free up space in local jails.

As in other similar centers in the country, authorities intend to temporarily detain illegal immigrants while they await deportation from the country.

The name Alcatraz refers to the historic prison off the Californian city of San Francisco, on a rock in the sea where some of the country's worst criminals were sent for decades.

For Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials, the airfield's isolation in the Everglades, surrounded by wetlands teeming with mosquitoes, venomous snakes and alligators that are considered sacred to Native American tribes, makes it an ideal place to detain illegal immigrants.

"Clearly from a security standpoint, if someone escapes, you know, there are a lot of alligators," said DeSantis, who was one of Donald Trump's main rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Ron DeSantis also indicated he is considering building a second center at a Florida National Guard training camp known as Camp Blanding, about 30 miles southwest of Jacksonville in the northeastern part of the state.

The Republican governor stressed his willingness to help President Donald Trump's administration achieve its goal of more than doubling immigration detention capacity from the current 41,000 beds to at least 100,000 beds nationwide.

The US president has made combating illegal immigration a top priority, referring to an "invasion" of the United States by "criminals from abroad" and speaking extensively about deportations of immigrants.

Democrats and activists condemned the plan as an insensitive and politically motivated spectacle.

Florida environmental groups last week filed a federal lawsuit to block construction of the immigration detention center until it undergoes a rigorous environmental review, as required by federal and state laws.

The appeal to the courts brings together the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Everglades.

The project has also sparked protests from indigenous peoples who consider the land sacred, including 15 remaining traditional Miccosukee and Seminole tribal villages, as well as ceremonial and burial sites and other gathering places.

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