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Trump highlights 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Florida deportations ahead of the bill deadline

U.S. president Donald Trump arrived in Florida Tuesday to open a remote migrant center in the Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”, as he presses lawmakers to pass a spending bill that would increase deportations.

The facility is located about 60 km (37 miles) south of Miami, in a subtropical wetland filled with crocodiles, alligators and pythons. This is a frightening symbolism that the White House uses to demonstrate its determination to remove migrants who it believes were wrongfully allowed to remain in the United States under the former president Joe Biden's Administration.

Karoline Lavitt, White House spokesperson, said at a Monday news briefing that there is only one way in and only one way out. The area is remote and is surrounded by dangerous animals and harsh terrain. "This is a low-cost and efficient way to carry out the largest deportation campaign ever undertaken in American history."

Trump issued an official warning on Tuesday about the wildlife in the area. Trump told reporters that he would not like to run for a long time through the Everglades.

Congressmen are discussing the details of a new bill that would increase funding for deportations. Trump has been adamant about pushing the bill through Congress before the Independence Day holiday on July 4. It includes his tax and spending plans, as well as tens billions in funding for immigration enforcement.

HARDLINE POLICIES

Since a decade, the Republican president who lives in Florida has made border policies that are hardline a central part of his political agenda. One out of eight voters in the 2024 U.S. elections said that immigration was their most important concern.

Trump's pledge to deport up to 1 million people a year has been met with protests from the affected communities, legal challenges and employer demands for low-cost labor.

Lawyers representing some of the migrants detained have questioned the legality and conditions of temporary detention centers.

Government data shows that the number of federal immigrants in detention has increased dramatically to 56,000 on June 15 from 39,000 at the time Trump assumed office. His administration is also pushing to find additional space.

White House officials have said that the detentions were necessary for public safety. Some of the migrants detained had criminal records. However, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement statistics show an increase of eight times in the arrests of those charged with only immigration violations.

Trump has praised the vast prisons that El Salvador has built and his administration has detained some migrants in the Guantanamo Naval Base, located in Cuba. This base is best known for housing suspects of foreign terrorism following the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States.

U.S. officials used social media to promote the opening of this facility by posting images of alligators in hats from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Florida Republican Party sells gator themed clothing and beer koozies.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (a Democrat from a nearby congressional district) said in a statement sent via email that "Trump, and Republicans desperately need this wasteful dangerous mass misery distraction." This is in reference to a bill which would result in residents of the state losing their health insurance benefits.

Officials estimate that the complex at Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport in southern Florida could cost up to $450 million per year and house 5,000 people.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that he would send 100 National Guard soldiers to the area. Federal Emergency Management Agency (the U.S. government's disaster recovery service) is expected to provide a portion of funding.

Local leaders, including those from nearby Miccosukee or Seminole Tribes, have protested the construction of the facility and pointed out the sensitive environment in the area. Demonstrators have gathered in large numbers to protest the construction.

Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, said in an interview Monday that the facility was "great". "We need to add more beds." "We need to pass the beautiful, big bill."

(source: Reuters)