The deportation and detention of immigrants in the United States has been political fodder for Trump administration officials and advisors since his second term began in Jan. 2025.
From U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s selfie with detainees in El Salvador to Trump advisor Laura Loomer expressing enthusiasm about the prospect of immigrants facing alligators at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz,” the Trump administration is leaving nothing to the imagination with its intention to dramatically expand mass detention and deportation of immigrants through new facilities, aggressive enforcement, and policies that push the boundaries of executive power.
Tommorrow Trump will travel to Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz,” a 5,000-bed detention center “heart of the Everglades” just 45 miles west of Miami where, “there is only one road leading in, and there is the only way out is a one-way flight,” according to Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife in unforgiving terrain, the facility will have up to 5,000 beds to house, process and deport criminal illegal aliens. This is an efficient and low-cost way to help carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history,” she added.
State representatives from Florida are now selling tshirts, hats and beverage coolers with “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Human beings will be housed in heavy-duty tents and trailer facilities, similar to structures used during natural disasters. These temporary structures will be situated on the 30-square-mile property at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.
While there are ICE detention standards, DHS could issue waivers for certain requirements to expedite facility setup, potentially including “requirements for barber services or dining facilities that do not meet federal specifications.”
The area of Florida where the immigrants will be located has an verage temperature of 89°F highs and 80°F lows in July. Humidity levels are consistently over 90% and daily thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are expected. The opening of the detention center, which echos how people were put into concentration camps, comes during hurricane season.
Men, women, elderly and children can be expected to be detained at this facility.
The project is being funded with federal emergency funds, with an estimated cost of $450 million for the first year.
Some have coined the center as “Alligator Auchswitz” for it’s similarities to a concentration camp.
The definition of a “concentration camp” is a facility where large groups of people are interned, often without trial or due process, typically for reasons of state security, political control, or punishment, and not because they have been convicted of a crime. Historically, concentration camps have been used to confine political prisoners, ethnic minorities, or other targeted groups, and are distinct from prisons for criminal convicts or prisoner-of-war camps.
While the Trump administration has sold their immigration policy on targeting criminals who are also immigrants, research has shown that nearly half of the people currently held in ICE detention have no criminal record. About 40% of those detained since January 2025 had criminal convictions, based on an analysis of more than 97,700 detainees. Only about 8% of all ICE detainees have been convicted of violent crimes (such as homicide, assault, or sexual assault).
The overwhelming majority of individuals held in ICE custody or deported have not received full due process protections.
