President Donald Trump is expected to attend the formal opening Tuesday of a contentious immigration detention center built on a remote airstrip in Miami-Dade County's Everglades, a move that has spurred protests, lawsuits, and national attention, NBC News reported.
Trump is slated to appear at the ribbon-cutting for the new immigration detention facility Tuesday that state officials have nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz."
FAA flight records reviewed by The Palm Beach Post indicate the president will visit South Florida for the ceremony, and two White House aides and a Florida official confirmed to NBC News that Trump is "likely" to be there.
The site is located on a little-used runway on state-seized land within the Big Cypress National Preserve watershed. Gov. Ron DeSantis invoked emergency powers in early 2023 to commandeer the parcel for housing migrants, extending the order multiple times to broaden his authority over land use. Local Miami-Dade leaders have criticized the seizure as heavy-handed.
DeSantis' former chief of staff, Attorney General James Uthmeier, fast-tracked construction of the makeshift camp in roughly one week.
Supporters say that existing detention facilities are overcrowded and underfunded, praising the prject's completion speed.
The facility is designed to hold up to 5,000 detainees and is projected to cost $450 million annually. The Department of Homeland Security has approved the site and indicated it will likely reimburse Florida for part of the operating expenses.
Environmental organizations filed a lawsuit on Friday to halt the project, warning of severe ecological damage.
"The site is more than 96% wetlands, surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve, and is habitat for the endangered Florida panther and other iconic species," Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Florida Everglades, said in a statement. "This scheme is not only cruel; it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect."
On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators marched along nearby roadways, chanting against the construction of the facility. Critics argue the center represents Florida's most aggressive alignment with Trump's hard-line immigration agenda.
On Friday, DeSantis and Uthmeier hosted a Fox News crew for a tour, touting the center as a model for other states. Party officials in Tallahassee have capitalized on the initiative, selling branded merchandise and noting a surge in fundraising tied to the high-profile site.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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