COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — President Donald Trump landed in Collier County just before 11 a.m. Tuesday to tour what officials say will soon become the largest migrant detention facility in the United States.
Nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” the site is tucked deep in the Everglades at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. Trump arrived aboard Air Force One, joined by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for a private walkthrough of the newly constructed compound.
WATCH AS PRESIDENT TRUMP ARRIVES AT THE 'ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ' FACILITY IN THE EVERGLADES:
“It’s known as Alligator Alcatraz, which is very appropriate because I looked outside and it’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon,” Trump said during the visit.
The 150,000-square-foot facility includes rows of fenced-in bunk beds, a razor-wire perimeter, and an on-site airstrip from the existing airport that state officials say streamlines deportation efforts.
“We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” Trump said. “A lot of these people are self-deporting back to the country where they came from."
Built in just eight days, the makeshift compound consists of aluminum tents and trailers. Officials say it can house up to 3,000 migrants and withstand a Category 2 hurricane. Amenities include air conditioning, 24-hour medical services, recreation yards, and more than 20,000 feet of barbed wire fencing, officials say.
Gov. DeSantis praised the facility’s remote location and the on-site runway as key advantages.
“You drive them 2,000 feet to the runway and they’re gone,” he said. “It’s a one-stop shop," he added.
DeSantis added that the facility will begin operations immediately, with the first detainees expected to arrive Wednesday.
“We’ve got very red states that should be doing this just as much as Florida is,” he said, standing alongside Trump. “That will increase their numbers, and then what happens is you’ll have a lot of people who will deport on their own — because you don’t want to end up in an Alligator Alcatraz."
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