Tribe Florida fought with the new ‘Alcatraz’ migrant facility near Everglades Homes
A leader of the American American Native Florida spoke against new migrant detention facilities in Florida Everglades, who was nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” Improving environmental and safety problems for the local tribal community.
President Trump, visiting the site on Tuesday said the facility would hold “some of the most threatening migrants, some of the most ferocious people on this planet.”
The detention center, which was built on a long -distance airfield in Everglades, can accommodate up to 5,000 migrants in tents and trailers.
A drone view shows the construction site of the “Alcatraz Crocodile” Ice Detention Center for the upcoming state at the Dade-Coller Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, 28 June 2025.
Ap
Talbert Cypress, Chairperson of the Miccosukee Business Council, said that several tribal villages are located within 900 feet from the facility entrance.
“The proposed facilities are surrounded on all sides by Big Cypress National Preserve, and Tribe has been at home in Big Cypress for centuries,” Cypress told ABC News.
Cypress shows the lack of environmental studies about what created a detention center for the local ecosystem.
“There is no environmental impact study conducted. The study of environmental impacts conducted in 1974 suggested that placing all types of aircraft in the area will have a significant impact on Everglades,” he said.
Demonstrators held a sign when they protested President Donald Trump’s visit to the migrant detention center, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” located at the location of the Dade-Coller Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, July 1, 2025.
Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images
The proximity of facilities with traditional original camps, where members of Miccosukee and Seminole live and teach American and original education, have caused more concern.
“We are worried about safety … CBP, also only in general, all the upcoming traffic will come through there, and flights enter and out,” Cypress said.
During the tour with the Secretary of the Department of Domestic Security Kristi Noem and Governor Florida Ron Desantis, Trump highlighted the remote location of the facility.
The bed was seen in the migrant detention center, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” which is located at the location of the Dade-Coller Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, July 1, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP Via Getty Images
“This is very appropriate, because I look outside and it’s not a place I want to hiking in the near future,” Trump said. “We are surrounded by dangerous swamp -miles, and one -way is a true deportation.”
ABC News Correspondent Victor Oirendo reported that the government saw wild animals around it, including crocodiles and pythons, as a natural barrier for the detention center, stopping migrants from being able to escape.
The facility might be a model for similar centers planned at Louisiana and Alabama, Trump told ABC News.
The new data learned by ABC News shows a shift in priority law enforcement, with more migrant arrests without criminal records. DHS answered that 70% of ice catch was migrant with a criminal record.
Cypress ends with a message for Trump and Desantis: “President Trump and Desantis are very good for The Everglades, and we feel like [this is a] Step back in their efforts. “
