Florida Begins Building 5,000-Bed Migrant Detention Center Everglades

Florida, with federal support primarily from FEMA's Shelter and Services Program, is rapidly constructing a new immigration detention center called “Alligator Alcatraz” on the remote, nearly abandoned Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Everglades. The facility, expected to open in early July, will initially house around 1,000 detainees with plans to expand capacity to 5,000 using temporary tents and trailers, leveraging the surrounding dangerous wetlands as natural security. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have emphasized the center’s role in advancing President Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda, describing it as a cost-effective and innovative solution to increase detention infrastructure. The project has sparked controversy due to environmental concerns, as the site lies within sensitive Everglades wetlands and the Big Cypress National Preserve, with local Miami-Dade officials and environmental groups warning of ecological damage. Governor Ron DeSantis and state officials are actively supporting and managing the initiative, which is budgeted at approximately $450 million annually, with potential federal reimbursement. The facility represents a significant expansion of Florida's enforcement efforts amid a broader push to detain and deport undocumented immigrants more swiftly under the current presidential administration.