Former President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem toured the new migrant detention facility, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” on July 1, deep in Florida’s Everglades. Surrounded by alligators, pythons, and snakes, the sprawling camp is designed to house up to 5,000 detainees and serve as a stark deterrent to unauthorized immigration.
Noem delivered a chilling warning to migrants: “Self‑deport or end up in ‘Alligator Alcatraz,'” she said, urging those here illegally to leave voluntarily rather than face detention in the remote, hostile terrain.
Noem shared, “The other day, I was talking to some marshals that have been partnering with ICE. They said that they had detained a cannibal and put him on a plane to take him home, and while they had him in his seat, he started to eat himself and they had to get him off and get him medical attention.
“These are the kind of deranged individuals that are on our streets in America, that we’re trying to target and get out of our country because they are so deranged they don’t belong here.”
Trump praised the facility’s harsh conditions as a model for a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration. He quipped that escapees would learn to “run away from an alligator.”
While critics have been quick to label the camp as cruel political theater, likening it to a concentration facility rather than humane detention, it actually doubles down on rapid processing.
“We’re offering up our National Guard and other folks in Florida to be deputized to be immigration judges,” De Santis commented.
“We’ll have people here in this facility that can make [legal decisions]… Someone has a notice to appear — Biden would tell him to come back in three years… here, you’ll be able to appear like a day or two. So we want to cut through that so that we have an efficient operation between Florida and DHS to get the removal of these illegals done.”
Still, Trump and DeSantis remain unwavering. They argue the camp exemplifies enforcement, deterrence, and sovereignty, positioning themselves firmly for conservative voters prioritizing border control.
“The only way out is really deportation,” Trump said. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland”—a message as clear as the alligators themselves.
