Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsmax on Friday that the migrant detention facility that Florida is building in the Everglades – nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz" – is a "fantastic idea."
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier came up with the idea to convert the 17,000-acre Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into a detention center for illegal immigrants earlier this month and shared it with the White House in a video online.
On "Wake Up America," McLaughlin said that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has requested the help of state and local governments "since the start of this administration."
"We have a bed space problem," McLaughlin said. "A key operational part of arrests and deportations is the ability to house people somewhere until they face deportation. Every single morning, I have a call, and … they ask, 'How much bed space do we currently have?'
She said that the new facility would "increase bed space up to 5,000 beds," but that the budget reconciliation bill making its way through Congress would do "even more than that."
"So, we are really encouraging members of Congress, Senate, please vote for that 'big, beautiful bill' because that's going to get us across the finish line and make sure that we have that bed space to turbocharge our arrest and deportation efforts," McLaughlin said.
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis has reportedly taken control of the airport facility, which Uthmeier says is "virtually abandoned," over the objections of environmentalists and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
In his video, Uthmeier said that Florida has "been leading on immigration enforcement," and "supporting the Trump administration and ICE's [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] efforts to detain and deport criminal aliens."
"The government tasked state leaders to identify places for new temporary detention facilities," he said. "I think this is the best one. As I call it, 'Alligator Alcatraz."
President Donald Trump's "one, big, beautiful bill" is currently in the Senate, where it has seemingly stalled over opposition to proposed changes to Medicaid. The president has given Congress a July 4 deadline to pass the legislation and get it to his desk for signature.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.