Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that the detention center will open and detainees will start arriving on Wednesday.
United States President Donald Trump visited an immigration detention facility in Florida called ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ on Tuesday and joked about how the alligators in the area will serve as guards. He was accompanied by Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis and homeland security secretary Kristi Noem during the visit.
The detention centre is located about 50 kilometers west of Miami on a remote airstrip surrounded by swamps filled with alligators and pythons in Florida Everglades.
“Very soon this facility will house some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet,” Trump said during his visit, reported AFP.
“We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is really deportation,” he added.
The harsh conditions of the detention centre are reflective of the Trump administration’s stance on illegal immigration and its repercussions.
Joking about the alligators around the camo, which is also mosquito-infested, would serve as cops, Trump said, “A lot of bodyguards and a lot of cops in the form of alligators — you don’t have to pay them so much…I wouldn’t want to run through the Everglades for long. It will keep people where they’re supposed to be.”
Before arriving for the visit, Trump also joked about teaching detainees how to run away from alligators.
“We’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison,” he said.
While making a zigzag motion with his hands, Trump added, “Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this…And you know what? Your chances go up about 1%,” reported AP.
About the detention centre
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that the detention center will open and detainees will start arriving on Wednesday. He also said that the camp, who was built in eight days, could hold as many as 3,000 detainees, reported AP.
The camp is equipped with over 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire and 400 security personnel, the report added.
