Illegal migrants could soon be housed in a massive new immigration detention facility in Florida, dubbed the “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier offered the Trump administration a 39-square-mile plot of land surrounded by alligators and pythons.
The “virtually abandoned airport facility” would be able to “house as many as 1,000 criminal aliens,” according to Uthmeier, who shared his suggestion with the White hold via video.
He noted that it might be up and operating in as little as 30 to 60 days.
“Florida’s been leading on immigration enforcement, supporting the Trump administration and ICE’s efforts to detain and deport criminal aliens,” the attorney general announced.
“The government tasked state leaders to identify places for new temporary detention facilities.”
“I believe this is the best one. “I call it alligator Alcatraz,” he explained.
The vast plot of land provides a “efficient, low-cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility because you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter,” with alligators and pythons “waiting” for anyone who escapes, according to Uthmeier.
“Alligator Alcatraz, we’re ready to go,” he announced.
ICE migrant detention centers are currently overcrowded, housing approximately 53,000 illegal migrants as part of the Trump administration’s latest push, which exceeds congressional funding.
As a result, the agency is burning through its budget at breakneck speed, with ICE already $1 billion over budget, according to Axios on Monday.
According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Congress funded approximately 41,500 ICE detention beds for a total of $3.4 billion in fiscal year 2024.
If Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” passes the Senate, the Economic Policy Institute estimates that ICE will have $45 billion to expand its capacity to detain illegal migrants.
The White House has also increased ICE’s daily arrest quota from 1,800 to 3,000, which, according to ICE insiders, is diverting attention away from criminal migrants and lowering agency morale.
