Ron DeSantis Defends Alligator Alcatraz: Trump to Visit and Is ‘Excited’ About It

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) defended “Alligator Alcatraz” — the Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility approved for use to detain illegal migrants by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — during a press conference this week, noting that it is “logistically simple” and adding that President Donald Trump is “excited” about it.

DeSantis noted that the facility is in the middle of the Everglades and clarified that the facility is “not defunct.”

“People say there are training flights that go in there, but it’s a massive runway. And, you know … there’s not a lot of buildings out there, but there’s a lot of concrete. And so these guys set up this whole thing within a matter of days,” DeSantis said.

“And so when the President comes tomorrow, he’s going to be able to see … what will happen is you bring people in there. They ain’t going anywhere … unless you want them to go somewhere, because good luck in the civilization,” he said, as a big part of the draw of this facility is the natural barrier of alligators and pythons.

“So the security is amazing … natural and otherwise,” the governor said.

But ultimately, he said this facility is an effective way to increase the greater goal of removing and deporting illegal migrants.

“If you don’t do that, you know you’re going to continue to have this problem of illegal immigration. So you’ll be able to bring people in. They’ll get processed. They have an order of removal, and they can be queued,” he said, explaining the convenience of the fact that the federal government can fly them out of the country from right there, using the existing runway.

“You literally drive them to 2,000 feet, put them on a plane, and then they’re gone. It’s very logistically simple,” he continued.

DeSantis, again, described this facility as a “force multiplier,” adding that he spoke to President Donald Trump over the weekend. The president, he said, is “very excited about doing it.”

“But I think what he wants to see is Florida should not be the only one in this fight, right?” DeSantis continued, contending that Florida is simply helping the Trump administration follow through with the will of the voters.

“We literally are doing what the voters who elected all of us have been demanding for many, many years,” he said, adding that immigration was one of the top issues in the last election.

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The facility is expected to be up and running this week, and Trump is expected to attend the opening.