Now, the party is capitalizing on its latest controversy: a plan to build a sprawling immigration detention facility in the middle of the Florida Everglades.
As the Trump administration continues to ramp up its immigration crackdown, Florida has quickly begun constructing a detention facility for migrants on the site of a largely unused public airport in the heart of the Everglades (along the eastern boundary of Big Cypress National Preserve) to house and process suspected undocumented migrants.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has said the site will consist of "light infrastructure" in the form of "heavy-duty tent facilities, trailer facilities," hold more than 5,000 beds, and be up and running by the first week of July. The state is calling it "Alligator Alcatraz."
As construction gets underway, the Florida GOP is already hawking branded "Alligator Alcatraz" merch.Feds approve Alligator Alcatraz: Florida’s gator-guarded prison for illegal aliens. Surrounded by swamps & pythons, it’s a one-way ticket to regret. Grab our merch to support tough-on-crime borders! Limited supply—get yours before the gators do!https://t.co/oJAK7EuowA
— Florida GOP (@FloridaGOP) June 27, 2025
Yes, really.
The party's online store now features $30 t-shirts stamped with the name and what appears to be an AI-generated image of a swampy prison scene, complete with an alligator and oversized snake. A matching black trucker hat goes for $27, and a set of koozies runs $15.
In a Florida GOP email advertising the merch, the party boasts "Alligator Alcatraz" as a "gator-guarded, python-patrolled prison for illegal aliens who thought they could game the system.
"We're backing President Trump's fight against illegal immigration with this blazing Alligator Alcatraz gear," the email reads. "Every shirt, hat, or koozie you grab funds our push to keep Florida tough on crime and tougher on borders."
Florida officials broke ground on the site earlier this week using emergency powers granted to Gov. Ron DeSantis under a 2023 state of emergency declaration over illegal immigration. Under Florida law, the governor may commandeer or use private property if it's deemed necessary to "cope" with an emergency.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management will reportedly oversee things at the facility with the help of the National Guard at an estimated cost of $450 million per year, with the option to seek federal reimbursement.
Since Uthmeier announced the plan, Friends of the Everglades and other veteran conservationists have pushed back, warning that the project threatens critical ecosystems home to endangered species like the West Indian manatee, American crocodile, and Florida panther.
Just days after hundreds gathered near the site to protest, Friends of the Everglades executive director Eve Samples sent a letter to DeSantis urging him to immediately halt construction. She warned the project would cause irreparable harm to wetlands, strain water and sewer infrastructure, increase light pollution and traffic, and burden local emergency services.
"Friends of the Everglades is deeply concerned that building a detention center — along with the necessary infrastructure, and the likelihood of future development — poses an unacceptable and unnecessary risk to on-site wetlands, nearby Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park," the letter reads.
It adds, "To be clear, allowing the 'Alligator Alcatraz' proposal to move forward would signify a reversal of the DeSantis Administration's stated commitment to Everglades restoration."
