(Adnkronos) – Donald Trump is going to the Everglades swamp region in Florida today for the opening of the new detention center for illegal immigrants, strongly desired by local Republican leaders. The facility, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz”, is among the most remote and inaccessible in the entire country, and has raised criticism from Democrats, Native American leaders, and environmental groups for both humanitarian and environmental reasons.
The project was conceived by State Attorney General James Uthmeier and strongly supported by Governor Ron DeSantis, who presented it as part of Florida’s alignment with Trump’s hard line on immigration. The president will be accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who approved the plan and plans to reimburse Florida for some of the costs with federal funds. “We are working at full speed to expand facilities and beds to implement mass deportations,” Noem said.
The center, built in just seven days thanks to the governor’s emergency powers, can accommodate up to 3,000 migrants in a sort of tent city that extends over a disused airstrip. The site is located in the heart of the Everglades, in an area surrounded by snakes, alligators, and frequently subject to hurricanes. These extreme conditions are, according to Republicans, part of the deterrence strategy, with the hope that migrants will return home on their own. “They can’t get stuck by a hurricane if they self-deport,” wrote the state Republican Party leader Bill Helmich on X.
The timid voices of Democratic protest focus on the extreme conditions to which migrants would be subjected: locked up in tents in the middle of a swamp, under the Florida sun and in a hurricane-prone area. “They are locking people up in a swamp in extreme heat and without a clear plan to ensure humane conditions,” denounced Florida Democratic Senator Shevrin Jones.
Environmental organizations have also raised their voices: according to Friends of the Everglades, the site is located over 96% on wetlands and is surrounded by the Big Cypress National Preserve, habitat of the Florida panther and other protected species. “It’s a cruel plan that threatens an ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect,” said director Eve Samples.
