Florida Opens DHS-Approved 'Alligator Alcatraz' Migrant Detention Center in Everglades With 1,000 Capacity

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has proposed and opened a new immigration detention center called "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Florida Everglades. The facility, located at an abandoned airport deep within the Everglades, is designed to hold up to 1,000 migrants who entered the United States illegally. The detention center is surrounded by natural predators such as alligators and pythons, which Uthmeier highlighted as a deterrent for escape, stating that if detainees get out, they face the dangers of the swamp. The U.S.

Department of Homeland Security has approved the plan and will help fund the facility as part of a broader initiative under the Trump administration to expedite mass deportations. The first group of immigrants was scheduled to arrive at the center on the night of July 2, 2025. Additional detention sites, including one at Camp Blanding, are expected to open soon. The center aims to house, process, and deport detained migrants, with state officials referring to the detainees as "criminal aliens."