A drone view shows the area surrounding the construction site of the state's forthcoming "Alligator Alcatraz" ICE detention center at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport as people rally against it in Ochopee, Florida, on June 28, 2025. (Marco Bello/Reuters)
The detention center earned its name due to its location in the heart of the Everglades, which is home to massive reptiles such as alligators and pythons.
"This is an airport that's already there," DeSantis said Wednesday during an event with the media. "Clearly, from a security perspective, if someone escapes, you know, there are a lot of alligators you're going to have to contend with. No one's going anywhere once you do that. It's a safe and secure as can be."
Environmentalists and Democrats have come out against the detention center, including lining up along Highway 41, which runs through the Everglades, to protest its construction Saturday. Protesters held signs declaring, "Another stupid plan to abuse people & the Everglades," "No Alligator Alcatraz" or signs demanding ICE is pushed "out of Florida," photos show.
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS TRY BLOCKING TRUMP'S 'ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ' WITH LAST-MINUTE LAWSUIT
Heavy-duty generators are driven into Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport off Tamiami Trail on Monday, June 23, 2025 in Ochopee, Florida. (D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Basking American alligators in the Everglades. (Getty Images)
Demonstrators protest the construction of an immigrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," in the Everglades near Ochopee, Florida, June 28, 2025. (Getty Images)
Demonstrators hold signs as they protest the construction of an immigrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," in the Everglades near Ochopee, Florida, on June 28, 2025. (Getty Images)
Various federal and state agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and Florida's Division of Emergency Management, were additionally hit with a lawsuit Friday spearheaded by a pair of environmentalist groups that claim the detention facility will disrupt and threaten the Everglades ecosystem, The Associated Press reported.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference on immigration enforcement at Homestead Air Force Base on Feb. 26, in Homestead, Florida. (AP/Rebecca Blackwell)
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"Alligator Alcatraz, and other facilities like it, will give us the capability to lock up some of the worst scumbags who entered our country under the previous administration. I will continue to stand alongside our officers as they protect and defend our homeland. Make America Safe," Noem posted to X Friday.
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