Deportation flights from the remote Everglades immigration lockup known as Alligator Alcatraz have begun and are expected to increase soon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday.
The first flights operated by the Department of Homeland Security have transferred about 100 detainees from the immigration detention center to other countries, DeSantis said during a news conference near the facility.
“You’re going to see the numbers go up dramatically,” he said.
Two or three flights have already departed, but officials didn't say where those flights headed.
Critics have condemned the South Florida facility as cruel and inhumane. DeSantis and other Republican officials have defended it as part of the state’s aggressive push to support President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Building the facility in the Everglades and naming it after a notorious federal prison were meant as deterrents, DeSantis and other officials have said.
The White House has delighted in the area’s remoteness — about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Miami — and the fact that it is teeming with pythons and alligators. It hopes to send a message that repercussions will be severe if U.S. immigration laws are broken.
Trump has suggested that his administration could reopen Alcatraz, the notorious island prison in San Francisco Bay. The White House also has sent some immigrants awaiting deportation to a detention lockup in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and others to a megaprison in El Salvador.
The Everglades facility was built in a matter of days over 10 square miles (26 square kilometers). It features more than 200 security cameras and more than 5 miles (8 kilometers) of barbed wire. An adjacent runway makes it more convenient for homeland security officials to move detainees in and out of the site.
It currently holds about 2,000 people, with the potential to double the capacity, Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Friday.
DeSantis wants the U.S. Justice Department to allow an immigration judge on site to speed up the deportation process.
“This was never intended to be something where people are just held,” he said. “The whole purpose is to be a place that can facilitate increased frequency and numbers of deportations.”
Critics have challenged federal and state officials’ contention that the detention center is just run by the state of Florida. Environmental groups suing to stop further construction and expansion demanded Thursday to see agreements or communications between state and federal officials and to visit the site.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates deportation flights mainly from a few hubs, including Harlingen, Texas; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Mesa, Arizona. Others are scattered across the country.
There were just over 200 flights in June, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that analyzes flight data. It was the highest tally since the group started keeping track in January 2020.
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Associated Press writers Mike Schneider and Elliot Spagat contributed.
By John Seewer, The Associated Press
