TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A remote, state-run facility in the Everglades constructed for immigrant detainees is slated to open Tuesday with a visit from President Donald Trump, as Gov. Ron DeSantis tries to place Florida at the forefront of the federal government’s mass deportation campaign.

DeSantis, who is expected to join Trump on Tuesday morning, has called the new facility a “force multiplier” that will respond to the Trump administration’s needs for more detention space for immigrants. The site, which has a runway long enough to rival what’s available at Miami International Airport, could also help ramp up deportation flights.

“Most states are doing nothing,” DeSantis said at a news conference on Monday. “We are one of the few states — we may be the only state — that is really full throttle saying, ‘You know what? We are not going to solve this problem unless we are part of the team.’”

The detention immigration facility —located in an idle airstrip that the DeSantis administration recently seized from Miami-Dade County using emergency powers — is seen by the governor as a key way to further Trump’s immigration crackdown. In addition to detention space and a runway, DeSantis believes the facility’s location, in a hot, swampy environment filled with alligators and pythons, could send a message to undocumented immigrants: Leave the country on your own accord or risk being held at an unpleasant spot.

“They ain’t going anywhere once they are there... because good luck getting to civilization,” DeSantis said at the news conference as the crowd laughed. He then quipped: “The security is amazing. Natural and otherwise.”

Construction began last week

DeSantis says he believes the detention facility — dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” and which began construction last Monday — will be operational on Tuesday, but it remains unclear when detainees will begin to be processed and held there. The facility is likely to open with the capacity to hold up to 500 people. Eventually, the goal is for it to house up to 3,000 individuals.

Since Trump took office, Florida officials have pushed to elevate the state’s role in federal immigration enforcement. Through agreements with the feds, nearly 300 law enforcement agencies in Florida have deputized local cops so they can arrest and detain undocumented immigrants. Last month, the Florida Department of Emergency Management released a blueprint outlining Florida’s plans to boost the federal government’s immigrant agenda.

“If we are not part of the team — the feds may do some good stuff, but they are not going to get the job done with the current resources that they have. And I know they are trying to build that up, and hopefully they do very quickly, but as it stands now, you need state and local to be there helping out,” DeSantis said.

Trump’s visit on the facility’s opening day, which first came to light through a Federal Aviation Administration VIP movement notification, signals support for states’ involvement in the federal immigration agenda. In a statement on Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Alligator Alcatraz will give the Trump administration the ability to “lock up some of the worst scumbags who entered our country under the previous administration.

“We will expand facilities and bed space in just days, thanks to our partnership with Florida. Make America safe again,” she said.

In a press release, DHS listed several recent arrested immigrants in the state with criminal convictions for homicide, kidnapping, child pornography and other crimes, stating that these were the kinds of people that could be housed at the facility.

Data from researchers at Syracuse University shows that nearly half of the 56,397 detainees in ICE custody nationally as of June 15 were being held for immigration violations and did not have a criminal conviction or charge. The Cato Institute analyzed nonpublic data and found that 65% of people processed by ICE between October 2024 and June 2025 had no convictions and 93% had no convictions for violent crimes.

Contractors have been flitting in and out over the last week at the facility, bringing in solar panels and generators. Soft-sided temporary facilities will be put up initially while facility staff will be housed in old Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers.

$450 million pricetag for Florida

Florida hopes to house up to 5,000 immigrant detainees across the state. Officials are also evaluating whether to use Camp Blanding, a military base near Jacksonville. State-run immigration detention will cost about $450 million a year to run. Florida will be able to request reimbursements from a federal fund that the Biden administration used to house noncitizens.

The state-run facility has ignited a wave of condemnation, with environmentalists suing Florida over the detention center. A fresh string of protests is expected to take place Tuesday near the site, highlighting both opposition to the ongoing immigration crackdown and the potential environmental impact.

Concern over Everglades impact

Critics have raised concern about the material waste and pollution that Alligator Alcatraz will generate. A recent appraisal requested by Miami-Dade County states that the land experiences significant flooding throughout South Florida’s rainy season. Advocates are particularly concerned about potential spills of aviation fuel and raw sewage into the pristine Everglades waterways.

DeSantis, who has positioned himself as a champion for the Everglades, called the facility the “most efficient and effective place” to build the state-run detention center. He said the state has emergency plans in place in case a hurricane were to affect the facility and the detainees inside.

“They have plans and contingencies for all of that,” DeSantis said.

As pushback from environmentalists mounts, DeSantis said the facility’s operations will not have an environmental impact on the Everglades. Since he came into office, DeSantis has made restorations of the Everglades a cornerstone of his environmental agenda. On Monday, he pointed to his administration’s investments in restoration and water-quality projects.

“We would have not agreed to do it at that site if I thought that somehow, it was going to negatively impact all the great work we’ve done on improving and restoring the Everglades,” he said.

Environmentalists are not buying it, so much so that they want to stop the facility’s construction and opening through the courts.

“This massive detention center will blight one of the most iconic ecosystems in the world,” said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This reckless attack on the Everglades — the lifeblood of Florida — risks polluting sensitive waters and turning more endangered Florida panthers into roadkill. It makes no sense to build what’s essentially a new development in the Everglades for any reason, but this reason is particularly despicable.”

On Tuesday, environmentalists will be at the gates trying to deliver their message.

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