BBC News
U.S. President Donald Trump visited the new Florida detention center called the “crocodile alcatraz” and is expected to hold about 3,000 immigrants in part of the crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Trump said during a visit to the Florida Everglades facility that it will soon have “the most sinister immigrants, the most vicious people on the planet.”
The government said crocodiles, crocodiles and pythons in the surrounding wetlands will prevent detainees from escaping.
Some state legislators, local mayors, environmental groups and neighbors oppose their construction, saying it could damage important ecosystems.
Getty Images“We are surrounded by miles of sinister military personnel, and the only way out is to deport us,” Trump said on the tour.
He added that he “didn’t want to travel through the swamp for a long time” and anyone trying to do so would do it “many in the form of crocodiles.”
The facility is designed to hold 3,000 detainees and the facility is expected to arrive Wednesday. A second facility (which is intended to accommodate 2,000 people) will be built near Jacksonville.
Trump visited the complex’s medical facilities in a sultry heat and humidity, as well as a large air-conditioned tent that will accommodate detainees and have several walls surrounded by chain fences.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an interview that he intends to act as an immigration judge on behalf of the state’s National Guard judge’s defense attorney or members of the jags and promote rapid evacuation from the country.
The president said the facility “probably” a model for such facilities, adding that his administration is actively working with governments in several Republican-run states, such as Louisiana, to find other suitable locations.
“They can hold a hearing and be sent back to the homeland immediately,” said Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security who accompanied Trump’s trip.
Trump said he has approved the governor’s plan.
Both Trump and Norm said they believe the facility would encourage undocumented immigrants to deceive themselves.
Norm claims to have done this one million, but admits that the government is not sure of the real number, as some people have not left the country using official customs and border protection apps because their country of origin has not provided data.
According to Norm, the new plant will cost about $450 million (£332 million) a year, with funds mainly coming from temporary asylum and service programs, which the Federal Emergency Administration has previously used to provide accommodation for undocumented immigrants in U.S. cities.
Local residents living near the site, such as Betty Osceola, a member of the Native American community, told the BBC that they fear the temporary facilities will become permanent.
“I have serious concerns about environmental damage,” she said.
Experts warn that damage to regional wetlands and endangered species could undone the state’s enormous efforts to restore the Everglades, which have cost billions of dollars. It is an endangered species such as the Florida Black Panther and the West Indian Manatee.
Elise Pautler Bennett, an attorney for the Center for Biodiversity, described the Everglades as “the most sensitive place in Florida”, making the development of detention centers there “risk”.
“Any other project proposed in the Everglades will go through a intense environmental approval process and I am a firm believer that this is not a political stunt,” Ms Bennett told the BBC.
As human rights groups warn detention centres to be overcrowded, the move to establish a new centre has become excessive.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) currently has a record 59,000 detainees nationwide, 140% higher than their capacity, according to data obtained by CBS, a news partner of the BBC.
Like Trump said he wanted to reopen the former prison Alcatraz Island in central San Francisco Bay, the facility will be hard to reach.
It will be located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a public airport about 58 km (36 miles) from Miami.
Cecilia Barría and Walter Fojo contributed the report
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