Republican Governor Ron DeSantis gave a tour of what he’s calling “Alligator Alcatraz,” a holding facility built specifically to manage the process of deporting “illegal aliens” at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochapee, which is located within the Florida Everglades.
DeSantis told Fox News Steve Doocy that the Department of Homeland Security has to go through a process “to vet, to process, and stage for removal.”
He added, “We have jails…but that’s not enough, and so there needs to be more ability to intake, process and then deport. This answers that.”
Florida is stepping up to help increase deportations and fulfill President Trump’s mandate to enforce immigration law.
Alligator Alcatraz is a secure facility in Florida that will stage criminal illegal aliens for efficient mass deportation. I gave @SteveDoocy a tour this… pic.twitter.com/jS6xK1u7Pm— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) June 27, 2025
DeSantis added: “This is gonna be able to have more than 3,000 illegals processed though here,” he pointed behind him and said, “We’ve got a massive runway right before us, where any of the federal assets that they want to fly back to a country, they can do that, a one-stop shop.”
DeSantis told Doocy that there are about 50,000 or more illegals that have already been ordered to be removed by an immigration judge in Florida, “and so we’re gonna have our hands full.”
He also announced, “By Tuesday, this will be able to have intake of illegals.”
While walking and talking on the construction site, Doocy asked DeSantis, “Where do you go to get a bunch of bathrooms like that?” The governor replied, “This is being done by the division of emergency management,” and explained that the state “has people staged here for hurricane response normally.”
DeSantis also noted that the facilities will include air conditioning and medical services and added, “There’s not going to be anything that they’re hurting for.”
Note: The Florida Division of Emergency Management will operate the facility at a reported cost of $450 million annually, which will be partially reimbursed by the federal government.