


Florida officials are considering a plan to construct a large immigration detention facility deep within the Everglades on land currently owned by Miami-Dade County.
The proposal by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier comes as the Trump administration has set a quota for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to make 3,000 arrests of illegal immigrants per day.
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The site in question includes its own airstrip, making it ideal for processing and deporting undocumented immigrants efficiently. The remote location, Uthmeier noted, offers natural containment due to the surrounding swampland and wildlife.

“If somebody were to get out, there’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide,” Uthmeier told Fox Business. “Only the alligators and pythons are waiting. That’s why I like to call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’”
If approved at the state and federal levels, construction could be completed within two months, Uthmeier said. Once operational, the facility would become the largest immigration detention center in Florida, helping to relieve overcrowding in local jails and existing federal detention facilities.
Uthmeier’s proposal comes as ICE detention centers have reached capacity for detaining immigrants. Almost 90% of individuals held by ICE are being detained in facilities operated by private, for-profit corporations.
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ICE detention currently receives $3.4 billion in funding, but a recent congressional proposal aims to raise that amount dramatically. The Republican-backed megabill, which cleared the House in late May, designates $45 billion for ICE detention, a more than tenfold increase.
Meanwhile, Florida has also established a new State Immigration Enforcement Council, which brings together law enforcement leaders from across the state. This group operates under the recently created State Board of Immigration Enforcement, comprising members of the state Cabinet and legislative leaders.