A new detention facility nestled in the heart of the Florida Everglades and surrounded by predators, named “Alligator Alcatraz,” has been approved by the federal government.
“If you’re detained there, there’s no way in, no way out,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said during a podcast appearance this week. The orginal Alcatraz maximum-security prison is on an island in San Francisco Bay and no one successfully escaped from there because of the strong currents of the bay.
Uthmeier pitched the “Alligator Alcatraz” plan last week. On Monday, he announced on that the facility will feature 5,000 beds and is expected to be operational by early July, with construction having already begun.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS News the Everglades detention facilities will be funded “in large part” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s shelter and services program. It was created by Congress to support groups and cities receiving migrants and asylum-seekers released from federal custody on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Uthmeier shared details about the location, which is an old, virtually abandoned airfield that once evisioned as the largest airport in the world. Furthermore, he said the airfield boasts an 11,000-foot runway, allowing large planes to land for processing.
He said the National Guard will be on-site to assist, providing due process for detainees as mandated by courts.
While describing how the facility would be organized, Uthmeier mentioned the use of light infrastructure, including heavy-duty tents and trailers, instead of permanent brick-and-mortar buildings. He said the facility would be temporary and secure by Mother Nature’s natural barrier, adding that escapees would face alligators and pythons in the wetlands surrounding the site.
“There’s really nowhere to go,” he said on the podcast.
Uthmeier said there is an urgent need to remove dangerous individuals from the streets, saying there are approximately 600,000 undocumented people in the country.
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