What to know about Florida's planned "Alligator Alcatraz"
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Attorney General James Uthmeier has championed the plan for "Alligator Alcatraz." Photo: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
In less than a week's time, a proposal to build an immigration detention center on an airstrip in the Everglades went from a controversial idea to getting the green light from the federal government.
Why it matters: The facility will have lasting environmental impacts on a stretch of wilderness that's vital to Florida's ecosystem and is set to cost the state about $450 million a year, the Miami Herald reported.
- It's also the latest example of state leaders signaling their alignment with President Trump's immigration crackdown.
The latest: On Monday, trucks were seen carrying portable restrooms and industrial generators to the site, which is owned by Miami-Dade County, the Miami Herald reported.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told multiple media outlets the federal government will fund the state's plans to construct the facility, which officials are referring to as "Alligator Alcatraz."
- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who proposed the idea, said in a Monday interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson that the facility will have 5,000 beds by the first week of July.
Between the lines: Under Florida law, the governor can overtake any private property if deemed necessary to handle an emergency.
Catch up quick: Last week, Uthmeier, who is Gov. Ron DeSantis' former chief of staff and was recently found in civil contempt by a federal judge over an immigration ruling, posted to social media plans to build the temporary facility on the 30-square-mile stretch of land.
- The announcement, which Uthmeier called a "great opportunity for Florida," was met with swift pushback from environmentalists, conservation organizations and residents across the state.
- On Sunday, hundreds gathered at the site to protest the plan.
- Those same groups are now encouraging residents to let DeSantis and Uthmeier know they oppose the plan.
Zoom in: In a letter to state officials on Monday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava argued "additional information and details particularly around the environmental safeguards" were needed prior to moving forward, as the impacts to the ecosystem "could be devastating."
Flashback: The airstrip was once intended to be the Everglades Jetport, the world's largest airport, about five times the size of JFK International Airport.
- But a study that cautioned of the catastrophic impacts to the ecosystem — plus staunch opposition from residents and conservationists — thwarted the plans.
What they're saying: "The governor could stop this today if he wanted to," Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, told Axios Tuesday.
- "He has a stated commitment to the Everglades. If he wants to maintain any credibility, he has to stop this."
The other side: The facility presents "a unique opportunity for a low-cost detention facility," Uthmier said on Johnson's podcast.
- It will have "a lot of heavy-duty tent facilities and trailer facilities," he added. "We don't need to build a lot of brick and mortar."
- "The National Guard will be there. We'll detain, deport and get people out of this country," he said.
The big picture: The proposal is the latest by the DeSantis administration that critics say would undermine the state's environmental resources.
- Last year, state officials proposed — then withdrew after strong community pushback — a plan to build pickleball courts, hotels and golf courses in state parks.
- Environmental groups, including Friends of the Everglades, are also fighting a proposed rock-mining operation on more than 8,000 acres south of Lake Okeechobee in the Everglades.
"These ideas in sequence — this assault on our environment — really makes it clear that the governor and his Cabinet are out of touch with what the people of Florida want right now, which is the protection of our green spaces and the Everglades," Samples said.