At least 100 migrants detained at Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" facility have been fully deported, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who hailed the site as a model for swift immigration enforcement, Breitbart reported.
DeSantis announced that those 100 people held at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport left in coordination with federal immigration authorities. The site, repurposed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, serves as a deportation hub for migrants in the U.S. illegally.
"These are folks — and a lot of them have criminal records. But that's what's happening here, and I think it's been very effective now," DeSantis said, emphasizing that most detainees are military-age males.
The deportations are part of what DeSantis called an "aggressive … deportation schedule," facilitated in part by the Department of Homeland Security.
"That's what you're seeing is starting to occur here down at Alligator Alcatraz," he said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed the deportations.
Garrett Ripa, ICE's Miami field director, stated that those removed from the country were "illegally present in the state of Florida." Officials provided updates from the detention center, which is located in the protected wetlands of the Florida Everglades.
The facility houses 750 to 900 detainees, according to estimates cited in The Washington Post.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier's office released details on some of the individuals held at the center. One is Oscar "Satan" Sanchez, an MS-13 gang member with a criminal history that includes assault and conspiracy to commit murder in New York.
Another inmate, Luis Donaldo Corado of Guatemala, has been charged with "burglary of an occupied dwelling, forced entry, and voyeurism."
A third, Eddy Lopez Jemot of Cuba, is accused of "arson, assault — arrested for allegedly cutting the throat of an elderly woman in Key Largo, FL, and lighting her home on fire to conceal the evidence."
Jeremy Redfern, communications director for Uthmeier, criticized media coverage of the facility, according to Breitbart, stating: "The left-wing press continues to spend their time amplifying false reports, but the reality is that there are monsters awaiting deportation within Alligator Alcatraz far worse than the monsters lurking in the surrounding Everglades. This group of murderers, rapists, and gang members are just a small sample of the deranged psychopaths that Florida is helping President Trump and his administration remove from our country."
The facility remains a focal point in Florida's broader immigration enforcement efforts under DeSantis, who has positioned the state as a leader in deportation operations in coordination with President Donald Trump's administration.
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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