OCHOPEE, Fla. (AP) As his administration scrambles to build the infrastructure required for a surge in deportations, President Donald Trump on Tuesday toured a new immigration detention facility encircled by swamps teeming with alligators in the Florida Everglades, implying it might serve as a template for future detention facilities across the country.
Trump mentioned the possibility of deporting American citizens and stated that he would like to see such facilities in a large number of states. Despite the questionable constitutional ramifications, he supported using Florida National Guard troops as immigration judges to expedite the expulsion of migrants from the nation.
Regarding the Alligator Alcatraz site in Florida, Trump stated, “Very soon, this facility will handle the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.”
Deportation is basically the only option, he continued.
Hundreds of demonstrators set up tents and trailers outside the site, which is a secluded airport. They held posters demanding the preservation of the vast preserve, which is home to numerous endangered animal species and a few Native American tribes, as well as the humane treatment of migrants.
The administration sees the location as a plus
The White House has taken great pride in the area’s isolation, located roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Miami, and its abundance of alligators and pythons. It aims to send a message to inmates and the rest of the world that violation of U.S. immigration laws would have dire consequences.
Trump even made a joke about the migrants being detained there before to his arrival: “If they escape prison, we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator.”
Avoid running straight ahead. Trump said, “Run like this,” while making a zigzag motion with his hand. And what do you know? Your chances increase by roughly 1%. According to a University of Florida website, alligator specialists advise that in the rare instance that the reptile pursues, it is preferable to run in a single direction.
During his tour, Trump visited the detention center’s medical facilities and other areas before being showered with praise by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other state and federal officials at a long roundtable.
According to DeSantis, it will actually hold about 3,000 detainees, with some beginning to arrive Wednesday. Initially, authorities had said it could jail up to 5,000 detainees upon completion.
Over ten miles (16 kilometers) of Everglades, the facility was constructed in eight days. It has 400 security guards, more than 200 surveillance cameras, and more than 28,000 feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire.
Trump downplayed critics’ worries, including the claim that it would have an adverse effect on a fragile ecology. According to him, officials won’t be dropping dirt because there is already an airstrip nearby.
“To be honest, it’s just great,” Trump remarked. You’re not doing anything to the Everglades, in my opinion. You’re only making it better.
Others, such as retired educator Phyllis Andrews, who drove from Naples, Florida, to protest Trump’s visit and referred to migrants as “fine people,” are horrified.
According to Andrews, they don’t deserve to be imprisoned here. The fact that they have a bounty on their head is awful.
Trump supporters also gathered close to the jail facility, including Enrique Tarrio, a former Proud Boys leader whom Trump pardoned for his conviction in connection with the Capitol assault on January 6, 2021. He said that the reason Trump won the election last year was because people wanted retaliation and large deportations.
Part of a larger Trump immigration push
For years, Trump’s political brand has been centered on his tough immigration policies and border crackdowns with Mexico. Trump disputed rumors that he suggested creating an alligator-filled moat at the southern border during his first term in 2019.
More recently, Trump has hinted that the infamous island jail off the coast of San Francisco, Alcatraz, would be reopened under his administration. In a similar vein, the White House pushed the political shock value of sending some immigrants who were on the verge of deportation from the United States to a megaprison in El Salvador and others to a detention facility in Guantnamo Bay, Cuba.
Even if some of those ideas are unrealistic, his administration has sworn that mass deportations are imminent. It would be extremely expensive to turn Alcatraz from a tourist destination into a prison, and Guantnamo Bay isn’t being used as frequently as government officials had anticipated.
Trump also pondered Tuesday the idea of deporting dangerous Americans, such as those who stab you while you’re out on the street or use a baseball bat to kill someone from behind.
They are not brand-new in our nation. They are ancient in our nation. A large number of them were born in our nation. Trump added, “I think we ought to get them the hell out of here too.” Thus, perhaps it will be the next project we collaborate on.
Trump used an expletive to characterize his predecessor, referring to his criminal indictments under President Joe Biden’s administration, when he said of the prison center, “Biden wanted me here.”
Construction of the Everglades site came together fast
In an effort to relieve additional strain on the nation’s long-overworked immigration court system, Florida intends to make it possible for members of the National Guard to be deputized and help immigration judges. According to officials, guards might function as staff augmentation while being prepared to offer additional support, in addition to providing site security throughout perimeter and access check points.
The estimated yearly cost of the detention facility is $450 million, but according to state authorities, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is primarily responsible for responding to natural disasters like hurricanes, will pay for at least portion of that.
Trump made friends with DeSantis, who had previously fiercely contested him for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, while on his tour, greeting about 20 FEMA employees and construction workers.
Regarding Florida’s governor, Trump remarked, “We have blood that seems to match pretty well.” Trump didn’t even need to ask me when DeSantis proposed that Guard members help lighten the burden of immigration judges. I approve of him.
Encouraging self-deportation?
Rather of being detained at the location, aliens might choose to self-deport and take planes back to their home countries, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was also on the trip. She expressed her expectation that my phone would ring nonstop as other states sought to create comparable sites and follow Florida’s example.
Detainees held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are typically detained for offenses such as illegal entry or overstaying a visa. They are either contesting their removal in immigration court or waiting for ICE to place them on the next bus or aircraft home.
More over 56,000 aliens were detained in ICE facilities as of mid-June, the highest number since 2019.
Trump was greeted with cheers when he learned that the comprehensive tax cut and spending measure that the White House had supported had passed the Senate. The president claimed that his presence in Florida, as opposed to advocating for a bill in Washington, highlighted how crucial the immigration problem is.
Just before boarding the plane to return to the White House, he stated, “I’m here, and I probably should be there.”
Weissert provided a Washington report. This article was written by Chris Megerian in Washington, Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida, and Elliot Spagat in San Diego for the Associated Press.
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