President Donald Trump toured a new immigration detention facility in Florida this week, located deep in the Everglades.
The site has been nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” due to its surrounding swampland, which is home to alligators, crocodiles, and invasive pythons, per Reuters.
The facility is designed to detain up to 5,000 individuals who entered the U.S. illegally. It is approximately 37 miles from Miami.
“I looked outside and that’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon,” Trump said during the visit. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” Fox News reported.
The facility is part of Trump’s renewed effort to enforce border security and expedite the removal of illegal aliens. He described the center as “beautiful, so secure.”
According to Fox News, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has empowered the Florida National Guard to participate in immigration proceedings. Guardsmen will reportedly be deputized as immigration judges and begin holding hearings within 48 hours of detention.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem warned that those who entered the country illegally face strict consequences.
“They don’t have to come here,” Noem said. “If they self-deport and go home, they can come back legally. But if you wait and we bring you to this facility, you don’t ever get to come back to America.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported just 8,400 apprehensions at the southern border in April, according to CBS News — a steep drop compared to the monthly peak of over 249,000 under President Joe Biden.
The detention initiative has drawn support from some conservative commentators.
“President Trump & Gov. DeSantis confirm Florida will deputize National Guardsmen as immigration judges… Every red state needs to follow suit,” wrote commentator DC Draino on X.
“Mass deportation centers are exactly what voters in Florida demanded,” Steve Bannon posted on X. “This is the kind of initiative Trump wants to see in every red state.”