Trump to Visit Detention Cent 07/01 07:19

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump is making a day trip to Florida's 
Everglades on Tuesday for a firsthand look at a new immigration detention 
facility that the White House suggests will be especially secure given that it 
is "surrounded by alligators."

   The detention facility is on an isolated airstrip about 50 miles (80 
kilometers) west of Miami and could house 5,000 detainees. It's drawn protests 
over the potential impact on a delicate ecosystem and criticism that Trump is 
trying to send a cruel message to immigrants -- while some Native American 
leaders have also opposed construction, saying the land is sacred.

   But a key selling point for the Trump administration is the site's 
remoteness -- and the fact that it is in swampland filled with mosquitoes, 
pythons and alligators. The White House hopes that conveys a message to the 
detainees being housed there and the world at large that repercussions will be 
severe if the immigration laws of the United States are not followed.

   Press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that the center is "informally known 
as Alligator Alcatraz," a moniker that has alarmed immigrant activists but 
appeals to the Republican president's aggressive approach to deportations.

   "There's only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way 
flight," Leavitt said. "It is isolated and it is surrounded by dangerous 
wildlife and unforgiving terrain."

   Crackdowns on the border and harsh immigration policies have long been a 
centerpiece of Trump's political brand.

   During his first term in 2019, Trump denied reports that he floated the idea 
of building a moat filled with alligators at the U.S.-Mexico border. "I may be 
tough on Border Security, but not that tough," he said at the time.

   In his second term, Trump has suggested that his administration could move 
to reopen Alcatraz, the notorious and hard-to-reach island prison off San 
Francisco. And Leavitt said the new Florida detention center's inhospitable 
location -- and dangerous nearby fauna -- were pluses.

   "A detention center surrounded by alligators, yes, I do think that's a 
deterrent for them to try to escape," she said.

   Former U.S. Rep. David Jolly of Florida, a former Republican who is now 
running for governor as a Democrat, called the facility a "callous political 
stunt."

   The White House has similarly promoted the political shock value of sending 
some immigrants awaiting deportation from the U.S. to a detention lockup in 
Guantnamo Bay, Cuba, and others to a megaprison in El Salvador.

   U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees are in detention 
facilities for immigration reasons, like entering the country illegally or 
overstaying a visa. They are either waiting for ICE to put them on the next 
flight or bus ride home or are fighting their removal in immigration court.

   If an immigrant is accused of or has committed a violent crime, he or she is 
tried and held in state or federal criminal jurisdiction, separate from the 
immigration system. In those cases, they may be transferred to ICE for 
deportation after completing their criminal sentences.

   State officials are spearheading construction of the Florida facility, but 
much of the cost is being covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
which is best known for responding to hurricanes and other natural disasters.

   Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, whom Homeland Security Secretary 
Kristi Noem has credited as the architect of the Everglades plan, first debuted 
the proposal with a slickly produced video, complete with custom graphics 
featuring red-eyed alligators and backed by a hard rock soundtrack.

   The Florida Republican Party has fundraised off the facility, selling 
branded T-shirts and beverage container sleeves. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 
suggested Monday that the facility could be open and "ready for business" by 
the time Trump arrives.

   DeSantis said the site has obtained approval from the Department of Homeland 
Security, which posted an image of alligators wearing ICE hats and sitting in 
front of a fenced-in compound ringed with barbed wire.

   The governor, who challenged Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential 
nomination, has also played up the fact that the site will be hard to escape 
from.

   "They ain't going anywhere once they're there, unless you want them to go 
somewhere, because good luck getting to civilization," DeSantis said. "So the 
security is amazing."