Tallahassee - Saba:
The US state of Florida has begun construction of an immigrant detention facility in the Everglades, which Florida Attorney General James Othmire has dubbed "Alcatraz Alligator," CNN reported.
The site, which covers approximately 39 square miles, is a temporary reuse of an existing landing and training facility between Miami and Naples.
Construction began weeks after President Trump ordered federal agencies to reopen the original Alcatraz prison, known as a near-inescapable prison.
According to a senior Department of Homeland Security official, operating the detention center will cost the state approximately $450 million annually.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava expressed reservations about the center, saying, "It's an area where we as a nation have invested billions of dollars to protect our natural environment and our water supply. It's an area under federal oversight, and it's part of our plans to restore the Everglades."
Othmeyer stated that the federal government has approved Florida's broader plan to have 5,000 detention beds available by early July across several facilities.
The Everglades site uses light infrastructure, such as tents and heavy trailers, and Othmeyer stated that it could be ready by the first week of July.
The Florida Immigrant Coalition, a grassroots movement, said that timeline is unrealistic.
| more of (International) |