Donald Trump heads to Florida to open 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention facility

Critics say facility is cruel and threatens sensitive wetlands

President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attend the opening of a temporary migrant detention centre informally known as 'Alligator Alcatraz' in Ochopee, Florida. ReutersShow less

President Donald Trump on Tuesday attended the opening of the “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention centre in Florida, as he continues to push his anti-immigrant agenda.

The facility is located in Collier County, Florida, a remote area near Miami surrounded by wildlife including alligators, crocodiles and pythons.

“I guess that's the concept. This is not a nice business. You know snakes are fast, but alligators – we're going to teach them how to run away from an alligator,” Mr Trump told reporters. “If they escape prison, how to run away. Don't run in a straight line. Your chances go up about 1 per cent – not a good thing.”

The trip comes as the US Senate approved a vast spending bill that includes provisions to expand funding for immigration enforcement and deportations. The President wants the “Big, Beautiful Bill” finalised before July 4, US Independence Day.

Donald Trump tours 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention centre

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After touring the facility, Mr Trump said the prospect of being held in the new detention centre would serve as a deterrent and encourage others to self-deport.

“We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” Mr Trump said.

On Monday, the White House said the new facility would cost $450 million a year and has the capacity to house 5,000 migrants.

“There is only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way flight, it is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a news briefing on Monday. “This is an efficient and low-cost way to help carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history.”

Environmental advocates and protesters at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on Tamiami Trail E, Ochopee, Florida. AP

Environmental groups, migrant advocates and Native American groups have criticised the new migrant facility, calling it inhumane and a threat to an ecologically sensitive wetland.

“This scheme is not only cruel, it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect,” Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades', said in a statement. On Friday, environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit in an effort to block the plan.

The facility has a runway that will be used for deportation flights, officials said. In the lead-up to the opening of the facility, the Department of Homeland Security posted images of alligators wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement hats on its official page.

Mr Trump, who took office for the second time this year has made hardline immigration policies the centrepiece of his time in office. His administration has set a daily quota of 3,000 arrests, sent migrants to notorious prisons in El Salvador, and held migrants at the Guantanamo Bay naval base.

Thousands have already been swiftly deported, sometimes without due process. The sweeping raids have also affected people with no criminal record and others who are legal residents in the US.

The Trump administration has touted the clampdown on illegal crossings along the border with Mexico, where migrants from Central and South America and elsewhere had crossed in large numbers under the Biden administration.

Last month the crackdowns ignited street protests in California, which is home to a large Mexican-American community. Mr Trump responded by dispatching the National Guard to quell the unrest.