Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has proposed constructing a new ICE detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” a facility surrounded by natural predators such as alligators and snakes. The plan, unveiled in a video tour of the proposed site, envisions housing up to 1,000 migrants in a remote area of the Everglades spanning over 100 square kilometers at a decommissioned airport. Uthmeier said the surrounding wilderness would serve as a natural deterrent to escape. The name references both the original Alcatraz prison and Florida’s reptilian ecosystem.
The proposal comes amid growing scrutiny of overcrowding and human rights conditions in existing Florida immigration facilities, including a recent aerial “SOS” distress signal formed by detainees at the Krome Detention Center. Uthmeier claims the site could be operational within 30 to 60 days if approved by the federal government. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County is set to vote on a controversial agreement that would allow ICE to pay $50 per detainee held for 48 hours and grant the agency broad access to jail information and detainees. Critics have expressed alarm over the aggressive expansion of Florida’s immigration enforcement under Governor Ron DeSantis.
