President Trump to Visit ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ as Environmental Lawsuit Seeks to Halt Everglades Detention Center
President Donald Trump is slated to visit Florida’s newly dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center this week, as the controversial facility, fast-tracked by Governor Ron DeSantis, prepares to open its doors Tuesday.
The site, located deep within the ecologically sensitive Everglades wetlands at the abandoned Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, is expected to house up to 5,000 migrants in heavy-duty tents and trailers by early July.
The announcement of the presidential visit comes as the project faces escalating criticism from environmental groups and Native American tribes, culminating in a federal lawsuit filed Friday by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.
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The lawsuit names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County as defendants, alleging that the plan has proceeded without the required environmental review under federal law and that the public has been denied the opportunity to comment.
The detention center’s location has been a point of both contention and strategic justification. Governor DeSantis has openly highlighted the region’s abundant wildlife, including alligators and Burmese pythons, as a natural deterrent for escapees, stating, “Clearly, from a security perspective, if someone escapes, you know, there’s a lot of alligators. No one’s going anywhere.”
However, environmentalists warn of potential ecological devastation to the Everglades ecosystem, a UNESCO World Heritage site and critical habitat for endangered species like the Florida panther. The chosen site itself has a contentious history; plans for a massive airport there in 1970 were abandoned after an environmental report warned it would “inexorably destroy the south Florida ecosystem.”
READ: “Alligator Alcatraz”: Florida Gov. DeSantis Unveils New Immigration Processing Hub
“This scheme is not only cruel, it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect,” said Eve Samples, Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades. She noted her organization was founded in 1969 by Marjory Stoneman Douglas to prevent harmful development in this very area.
Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, echoed these concerns, stating, “This massive detention center will blight one of the most iconic ecosystems in the world. This reckless attack on the Everglades — the lifeblood of Florida — risks polluting sensitive waters and turning more endangered Florida panthers into roadkill.”
READ: Swampy Solution? Florida AG Eyes “Alligator Alcatraz” For Illegal Migrants
Tania Galloni, Managing Attorney for the Florida office of Earthjustice, which is representing Friends of the Everglades, emphasized the legal shortcomings. “This plan has had none of the environmental review that’s required by federal law,” Galloni said. “Cruelty aside, it defies common sense to put a mass of people, vehicles, and development in one of the most significant wetlands in the world. That’s why we’re going to court.”
Despite the growing backlash and legal challenges, Florida officials are pushing ahead with the project, with the facility expected to begin intake operations imminently. The visit by President Trump is anticipated to underscore the administration’s commitment to expanding immigration detention capabilities.
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