With Alligator Alcatraz, Florida cements top spot in federal deportation mission

Katelyn Ferral, Miami Herald on Jul 1, 2025

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MIAMI — Alligator Alcatraz may have been built in eight days, but Florida’s race to become the top spot for President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda has been building for months.

Tuesday’s showcase of the immigration detention facility, comprised of tents and trailers on an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, caps months of activity led by Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers to build a broad, state-coordinated law enforcement apparatus to deport people from Florida who are in the country illegally.

It’s the culmination of a mission DeSantis trumpeted in January, soon after Trump took office.

Trump toured the detention center Tuesday, along with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, both of whom heaped praise on how Florida has led the nation in arresting, detaining and deporting undocumented migrants.

“This facility is exactly what I want every single governor in this country to consider doing with us,” said Noem. She said she hopes other states will soon begin asking: “How can we do what Florida just did?”

Alligator Alcatraz, which will eventually hold up to 3,000 detainees, is being called the largest immigrant detention facility in the country. More than a dozen private companies are working with the state to operate the remote facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, officials said Tuesday. DeSantis seized the land from Miami-Dade County using a continuation of an emergency order he issued in 2023 amid an influx of Cuban migrants coming to the Florida Keys. The facility is expected to cost $450 million per year to operate.

“We’re all in on this,” DeSantis said Tuesday. “This is a force multiplier for the president’s efforts. ... There is no reason why other states can’t be doing this.”

Tuesday’s event was also a political opportunity to display a united Florida Republican front in the midst of numerous intraparty disagreements. For months, top state officials have been bickering about how best to deport people and positioning for Trump’s approval in the upcoming 2026 midterm races for governor, attorney general and other key positions.

Trump noted that he and DeSantis “may have had some skirmishes” and may still have more. But Trump said he will “always come back because we have blood that seems to match pretty well.”

Trump thanked several state officials who helped open the facility, including Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is running for a full four-year term in his role in 2026.

“Where is James? I hear good things about you from Ron, too. He’s even a good-looking guy, he’s got a future,” Trump said.

Trump has not yet endorsed in the GOP attorney general primary, but he has in the governor’s race. His pick, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, was also present at Tuesday’s Alligator Alcatraz opening event.

Both Florida’s Republican Party and Uthmeier have in recent days capitalized on the catchy zing of the Alligator Alcatraz name by selling themed merchandise.

Uthmeier’s offerings include golf balls for $20, buttons at $5 apiece and a $30 T-shirt with “Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide” printed on the back. The sales will help fund his 2026 campaign.

Trump has pledged to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants annually, with an end goal of between 15 and 20 million people removed from the country by the end of his second term.

While he toured the immigration facility, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that includes tens of billions of dollars in new federal money for immigration enforcement — opening the door for similar detention projects around the country.

Over the last six months, Florida has:

—Allocated $298 million for immigration enforcement. This includes hiring more than 50 new law enforcement officers focused on immigration, along with training grants and bonuses for officers who assist with federal deportations.

—Cleared another $3 million in the 2025 state budget to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to award grants to local jails that are under construction and have contracted with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to support immigration enforcement efforts.

—Deputized more state law enforcement officers than any other state under a provision in federal immigration law known as 287(g). The provision allows ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specific immigration officer functions.

—Passed laws that expand the authority for state agencies to work with ICE and mandating state and local agency participation in federal deportation programs. The state also imposes $5,000 fines and suspension from office for local officials who refuse to comply with ICE directives.

—Approved a law making it a state crime to enter Florida as an undocumented immigrant. Although the measure has been temporarily suspended by courts, Florida officials arrested dozens under the provision anyway.

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