Trump says only way out of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is deportation

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that deportation is the “only way out” of the new “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention center located deep in the Florida Everglades. 

Trump speaking to reporters after touring the facility built on former airport in Miami-Dade County, said it will soon host “some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet 

“It’s known as Alligator Alcatraz, which is very appropriate because I looked outside and that’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon,” Trump also said, noting that “we’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation.” 

A sign located next to where Trump was speaking said the facility can hold up to 3,000 detainees and is operated by 1,000 staff members, including more than 400 security personnel. It added that it was built in eight days and is outfitted with over 200 security cameras and more than 28,000 feet of barbed wire. The facility is also surrounded by 10 miles of rugged Everglades terrain on all sides. 

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Joining Trump on Tuesday at a roundtable event after touring the site were Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Todd Lyons, acting ICE director and Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor, among other officials. 

DeSantis authorized the construction of the illegal immigrant detention center on a 30-square-mile property in the Everglades’ swamplands of Miami–Dade County under an emergency order. The property is a former airport that has been outfitted with sturdy tent structures. 

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“This facility here is a fantastic representation of what can happen when all of government works together, and when it’s accountable to the taxpayers and to the citizens that live here,” Noem said.  

“This facility is exactly what I want every single governor in this country to consider doing with us,” Noem continued, describing “Alligator Alcatraz” as “state of the art.” 

“Thank you to Governor DeSantis for stepping up and being an example to other governors. I hope my phone rings off the hook from governors calling and saying, ‘how can we do what Florida just did?’” Noem also said. 

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Mara Robles contributed to this report.