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East Coast 'Alcatraz' delivers needed space for detainees

East Coast 'Alcatraz' delivers needed space for detainees

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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem (left) and President Donald Trump in Florida on Monday, July 1, 2025. (AP)

East Coast 'Alcatraz' delivers needed space for detainees

An organization that advocates for enforcement of U.S. immigration laws contends that a having a detention facility in a remote area will go a long way to help relieve the challenge of securely holding illegal immigrants who are waiting to be deported.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other state and federal officials toured the facility, which was built by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration in a matter of days and is expected to receive its first detainees Wednesday.

The site – dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" – can currently house 3,000 people in dormitories corralled by chain-link fences and topped with barbed wire, and state officials say it can be expanded to ultimately house 5,000.

Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, argues the facility is needed.

"Clearly we need more detention space," Mehlman tells AFN. "From our perspective, it doesn't matter exactly where it is. It's just the fact that if you're going to enforce our laws and you're going to remove people from the country, there has to be a place to hold them while they go through their due process and are removed from the country."

Assembled on a remote airstrip with tents and trailers that are normally used after a natural disaster, the detention center is surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain common to the Florida Everglades. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says: "There's only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way flight."

Mehlman, Ira (Federation for American Immigration Reform) Mehlman

Mehlman has high praise for DeSantis, who took the initiative to create the 5,000-bed detainee facility.

"Governor DeSantis has been one of the leaders in state efforts to deal with the problem of massive illegal immigration. He and Governor [Greg] Abbott in Texas have really led the way on this, and clearly he's stepping up again," he says.

The FAIR spokesman says if the federal government wants to put a detention center in California or New York, for example, it is free to do so – whether it has the cooperation of the governor.

"But if you have a willing partner in, for instance, Governor DeSantis, that's great," Mehlman concludes.

The tour on Tuesday included walking through a medical facility featuring temporary cubicles as areas for treatment. Trump said the new detention center could be a model for future projects as his administration continues to enforce existing immigration law.

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