‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to open in Florida Everglades Tuesday as Trump visits amid protests, lawsuit
President Trump touring Alligator Alcatraz Tuesday
FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer shares the safety concerns that the facilities face as they are set to open on Tuesday.
MIAMI, Fla. - Florida officials say the controversial new immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" is on track to open Tuesday, despite protests and a pending federal lawsuit aimed at stopping it.
What we know:
The facility is located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a remote airfield in the heart of the Everglades. It’s designed to house, process, and deport undocumented immigrants. Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state is preparing to begin intake operations on July 1.
President Donald Trump is expected to appear at the opening. The administration is touting the site as one of the most secure in the country.
Pictured: The site of 'Alligator Alcatraz' at the abandoned Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.
"There will be some very dangerous criminal aliens that get processed through here," DeSantis told FOX News. "But if, for some reason, someone would be able to get out, where are you gonna go? You gonna dodge alligators for 50 miles to try to get to... no, it’s not gonna happen. So this is basically as secure as it gets."
The state says the site will cost about $450 million a year to operate. That cost, according to officials, will be reimbursed by FEMA.
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Why It's Controversial:
Two groups, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a federal lawsuit late last week alleging that federal and state agencies failed to follow environmental and land-use laws.
Jason Totoiu, the Florida policy director and senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said: "We filed suit today because several federal, state, and local agencies failed to comply with federal and state environmental and land use laws."
Pictured: The site of 'Alligator Alcatraz' at the abandoned Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.
He added: "The irony here in all of this is that the very statute that we have filed suit under- the National Environmental Policy Act- came about in large part because of the proposed construction of a jetport on this very same airstrip area back in the late 60s and early 70s."
Elise Bennett, the group’s Florida and Caribbean director, said the site plays a critical role in the ecosystem: "It’s a source of clean drinking water. It provides wetlands to help buffer from storms and it supports a whole host of endangered and threatened species that are native to the state of Florida."
Jeff Brandes, a Republican former state senator who now runs the Florida Policy Project, said there are some unanswered questions.
What they're saying:
"If we're going to be taking entire families and putting them at these facilities, then it seems like it's more of a long-term internment than it is even a prison or a detention of facility," he said, adding he has concerns about how the facility will be staffed. "We are radically understaffed at many of our facilities across the state. So are we moving correction officers from already-understaffed facilities to staff this facility? Is the National Guard going to be called up to staff this facility? Is the federal government leasing this facility from the state of Florida?"
Joe Rojas, a retired 30-year veteran corrections officer and former union representative, echoed some of those same concerns.
"Who lives close to alligator alley, number one? So you have to travel to get there probably miles and miles. And then, number two, I hate to say it, but it's going to be about the pay," Rojas said, adding there are safety concerns for the guards and detainees. "How do you train dealing with detainees? It's different because they're technically not convicted individuals."
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Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told FOX News Digital the lawsuit is "lazy," arguing the land has already been developed for years.
DeSantis, during a tour with FOX News, dismissed environmental concerns.
"It isn’t like we are going to start doing permanent sewer and all the other things. It’s all temporary. We’ll set it up and we’ll break it down," he said.
He also told FOX: "All the stuff that goes into intake and processing of illegals, you’re seeing this put up. This is all 24 hours. Twenty-four hours from now, you’re going to see even more, and by Tuesday this will be able to have intake of illegals."
What we don't know:
The White House has not yet confirmed President Trump's travel plans.
The Source: This article is based on reporting from FOX News Digital, including statements from Governor Ron DeSantis, DHS officials, and representatives from the Center for Biological Diversity.