‘Alligator Alcatraz’ for Illegal Aliens in Florida Approved By DHS
Charlie Kirk Staff
06/24/2025

The Department of Homeland Security has approved construction of a new immigrant detention center in Florida, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” according to a report from the New York Times.
As Breitbart News previously reported, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier first pitched the idea to transform the “virtually abandoned Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility” into a holding center for illegal aliens, where the surrounding Everglades would act as a natural barrier of alligators and pythons.
“I think this is the best one. I call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ This 30 square mile area is completely surrounded by the Everglades, presents an efficient, low cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility because you do not need to invest that much in the perimeter,” Uthmeier said. If detainees were to escape, “there is not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons.”
According to the New York Times, the facility will consist of “large tents” and other structures, with operating costs projected at around $450 million a year.
“The remote facility, composed of large tents, and other planned facilities will cost the state around $450 million a year to run, but Florida can request some reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
In a post on X, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem explained that the new detention facilities for criminal illegal aliens would be “in large part” funded through FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed to deliver cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens,” Noem wrote. “We will expand facilities and bed space in just days, thanks to our partnership with Florida.”
“These new facilities will in large part be funded by FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program, which the Biden administration used as a piggy bank to spend hundreds of millions of American taxpayer dollars to house illegal aliens, including at the Roosevelt Hotel that served as a Tren de Aragua base of operations and was used to shelter Laken Riley’s killer,” Noem continued.
“I am proud to help support President Trump and Secretary Noem in their mission to fix our illegal immigration problem once and for all,” Uthmeier posted on X. “Alligator Alcatraz and other Florida facilities will do just that.”
“We in Florida will fight alongside this administration to keep Florida safe, strong, and free,” Uthmeier added.