President Trump Tuesday toured a remote Florida detention camp for undocumented immigrants branded “Alligator Alcatraz” that he hopes to turn into a symbol of his controversial mass deportation effort.
Joking about the harsh conditions deep in the Everglades, Trump urged future detainees to respect the rules at the no-frills facility that is eventually expected to house 5,000 migrants rounded up in his immigration crackdown.
“This is not a nice business,” Trump said. “We’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison.”
“Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this,” he said, as he moved his hand in a zigzag motion. “And you know what? Your chances go up about 1%.”
Flanked by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Trump claimed the camp would be mostly used to house dangerous criminals, even though advocates say the vast majority of those being rounded up have no criminal record.
“The worst of the worst will always be first,” Trump said.
The facility is being built by the state of Florida but the federal government is expected to foot the bill through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is usually tasked with disaster relief. It will cost $450 million a year to operate.
Trump campaigned for reelection on promises to deport up to 20 million undocumented immigrants.
His administration has launched wide-ranging roundups of suspected migrants nationwide with a goal of arresting 3,000 people a day. The crackdown sparked street protests in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities last month.
But even Trump has admitted the crackdown may not be sustainable because of its devastating impact on industries like agriculture and hospitality that are dependent on millions of undocumented workers.
Protestors decry the new facility as an improper effort to intimidate immigrants, both legal and illegal. They say it will damage the fragile Everglades ecosystem and desecrate sacred ground for Native Americans.
“I have a lot of immigrants I have been working with. They are fine people. They do not deserve to be incarcerated here,” said Phyllis Andrews, a retired teacher who drove from Naples, Florida, to protest Trump’s visit on Tuesday.
A key selling point for the Trump administration is the site’s harsh layout and the fact that it is in inhospitable swampland filled with mosquitoes, pythons and alligators.
Trump has a mixed record with his other high-profile prison plans.
He has floated reopening the real Alcatraz in San Francisco bay, but officials say that would likely be impractical. The military base at Guantánamo Bay is being used less often than administration officials originally envisioned for a variety of logistical and legal reasons.
Officials have successfully deported scores of undocumented immigrants to El Salvador, where they are being held in CECOT, a notorious mega prison designed for gang members without any pretense of due process.
