"If somebody were to get out, there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Only the alligators and pythons are waiting," Uthmeier told Fox Business. "That's why I like to call it 'Alligator Alcatraz.'"
But while environmental groups have slammed the idea — with hundreds gathering at the remote site over the weekend to protest the plan — the project appears to be moving forward.
And quickly.
On Monday morning, Uthmeier joined conservative pundit Benny Johnson on his podcast, The Benny Show, to announce that the federal government has officially approved plans for the facilities (yes, plural) at the location, which Uthmeier said the state had been eyeing alongside law enforcement "for a while."This morning, I joined @bennyjohnson and announced that Alligator Alcatraz will be moving forward!
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) June 23, 2025
In Florida, the swamp means something different. pic.twitter.com/KGrHZS2DjT
He said the 39-square-mile site — consisting of "light infrastructure" in the form of "heavy duty tent facilities, trailer facilities" — will hold more than 5,000 beds and be open by the first week of July.
"We don't need to build a lot of brick and mortar," Uthmeier told Johnson. "It will be temporary, and thankfully, Mother Nature does a lot on the perimeter. We'll have a little bit of additions needed. But there's really nowhere to go. If you're housed there, if you're detained there, there's no way in, no way out."
Uthmeier's plan comes as the Trump administration intensifies its immigration crackdown, tripling the daily arrest quota from 1,000 to 3,000.
It also comes after months of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet pushing for more power from the federal government to detain, house, and deport immigrants.
Using emergency powers granted to DeSantis under a 2023 state of emergency declaration over illegal immigration, Florida officials began construction on the site this week. (Under Florida law, the governor may commandeer or use private property if it's deemed necessary to "cope" with an emergency.)
A Miami Herald reporter observed trucks delivering portable restrooms and industrial generators to the site, along with personnel from a private emergency management company, on Monday.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management will reportedly oversee the facility's operations with the help of the National Guard at an estimated cost of $450 million per year, with the option to seek federal reimbursement, a senior Department of Homeland Security official told the Herald.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Shelter and Services Program has reportedly allocated $625 million to support the state’s project.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has described the state-run detention center as a "cost-effective and innovative" way to implement Trump's immigration agenda.
"We will expand facilities and bed space in just a few days, thanks to our partnership with Florida," Noem wrote in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Alex Howard, a former DHS spokesperson under the Biden administration, criticized the project as "a $450 million stunt in the middle of hurricane season" and described the facility as “Desantis’ Little Guantánamo in the swamp.”
"Turning the Everglades into a taxpayer-funded detention camp for migrants is a grotesque mix of cruelty and political theater," Howard told the Herald. "You don’t solve immigration by disappearing people into tents guarded by gators."
In a letter sent to Florida Division of Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie on June 23, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that due to the site's location, it "requires considerable review and due diligence before actions can be taken that could have significant long-term impact on our community."
The letter requests more details on environmental impacts, land value, and other factors. While the county acknowledges the state’s $20 million purchase offer, it notes that a recent appraisal commissioned by the county valued the land at no less than $190 million.
"I appreciate that you have cited Emergency Executive Orders issued by the Governor, and of course Miami-Dade County will comply with such orders and state and federal laws," the letter reads. "However, it is also imperative that we fully understand the scope and scale of the proposed use of the site and what will be developed, as the impacts to the Everglades ecosystem could be devastating."
On Sunday, hundreds gathered at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport to protest "Alligator Alcatraz."
Photo by Celia Almeida
The site reportedly covers nearly 25,000 acres with 900 acres of "developed and operational land."
Eve Samples, director of Friends of the Everglades, called the project a "really terrible idea" in an interview with the Fort Myers News-Press.
"This site is sacred, a multi-generational home to Florida's native people, and is no home for a damaging, unnecessary prison. This location is also the origin of Friends of the Everglades, formed in 1969 by Marjory Stoneman Douglas to stop the world's largest airport from being built on this very land," the group wrote in a recent Facebook post. "Show Florida's leaders we do not stand for the destruction of the Everglades. No airports! No rock mines! No prisons! ONLY EVERGLADES."
This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.
