Trump hails new Florida migrant detention center
Published: |
President Donald Trump warned American criminals that they may be the next inhabitants of the 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility and deported out of the country. Trump raved about a migrant detention center built in the Everglades swampland and surrounded by alligators. It was designed to house illegal immigrants ahead of mass deportations.
The president also expressed his desire to have more such facilities built around the country. And he mussed that home-born 'bad people' may be his next target as he wants to get them 'the hell out' of the United States.
'We also have a lot of bad people that have been here for a long time,' he said. 'Some of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here too, if you want to know the truth. So maybe that'll be the next job.' It's not the first time Trump has speculated about deporting Americans convicted of crimes. In April, he suggested sending them to the notorious El Salvadorian prison currently holding migrants deported from the U.S.
The idea resurfaced on Tuesday when Trump toured the remote, high-security design of the new center and promised it would soon house what he called 'the most menacing migrants, the most vicious people on the planet.' 'It is not a place I want to go hiking any time soon,' Trump said. 'Very soon this facility will house some of the most menacing migrants, the most vicious people on the planet.
We're surrounded by miles of swamp land and the only way out is deportation.' Trump said he'd like to see similar facilities in 'many states,' adding Florida would getting a second one 'and probably a couple more.' 'At some point they might morph into a system where you're going to keep it for a long time,' he added.
'The incredible thing is picking the site because the site was one of the most natural sites. It might be as good as the real Alcatraz. Well, that's a spooky one too. That's a tough site. So I really think it could last as long as they want to have,' he said. The president noted that 'I couldn't care less' that the facilities were controversial.
Trump looked visibly pleased with the setup during his tour, observing stacks of bunk beds behind chain-linked fencing inside an air conditioned tent in a Florida swamp. Democrats have slammed the facility as a 'makeshift prison camp,' while environmentalists have questioned its impact on the local climates and Native Americans protested it being built on sacred ground.
The controversial detention facility was spearheaded by Florida Republican leaders and garnered its nickname due to its location: it sits about 37 miles from Miami in the middle of a swamp surrounded by snakes and alligators — and in an area of the state that is prone to hurricanes.
The $450 million-per-year detention facility, which will be able to hold up to 3,000 undocumented immigrants, was built in just seven days. There are only tents and trailers - no brick-or-mortar buildings. It was constructed on land belonging to Miami-Dade County and seized by state officials over local leaders' objections.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Hong Kong's CK Hutchison seeks Chinese investor to join Panama Ports deal
A Hong Kong conglomerate that's selling ports at the Panama Canal said Monday it may seek a Chinese investor to join a consortium of buyers, a move that could please Beijing but bring more U.S. scrutiny to the geopolitically fraught deal. CK Hutchison Holdings' initial plan to sell its port assets to a group that includes U.S. investment firm BlackRock Inc. pleased President Donald Trump, who has alleged that China interferes with the critical shipping lane's operations in Panama. However, they apparently angered Beijing and drew a review from Chinese anti-monopoly authorities. A Beijing-backed newspaper posted scathing commentaries about the deal, with one describing it as a betrayal of all Chinese. Beijing's offices overseeing Hong Kong affairs have reposted some of these commentaries, widely seen as an indication of Chinese leaders' stance. A Hutchison subsidiary has operated ports at both ends of the Panama Canal since 1997. After months of uncertainty brought by tensions between Washington and Beijing, Hutchison said in a statement that the exclusive negotiations period with the consortium has expired. However, it added 'the Group remains in discussions with members of the consortium with a view to inviting major strategic investor from the PRC to join as a significant member of the consortium,' referring to the People's Republic of China. It said they needed to change the membership of the consortium and the structure of the transaction for the deal to be able to pass reviews by 'all relevant authorities." The awkward position Hutchison found itself in for months highlights the challenges Hong Kong business elites face in navigating Beijing's expectations of national loyalty, especially when relations between China and the United States are strained. Hong Kong has overhauled its electoral system to ensure the city is run by 'patriots.' CK Hutchison is owned by the family of Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing. It announced March 4 that it would sell all its shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and in Hutchison Port Group Holdings to the consortium that also includes BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited, a subsidiary of the Mediterranean Shipping Company. In May, Hutchinson co-managing director, Dominic Lai told shareholders that Terminal Investment was the main investor. Its parent company is led by Italian shipping scion Diego Aponte, whose family reportedly has a longstanding relationship with Li's. The initial deal, valued at nearly $23 billion including $5 billion in debt, would have given the consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, located at either end of the canal. That agreement also required approval from Panama's government. The deadline for their exclusive negotiation period ended on July 27.
The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv attack injures five, Trump and Starmer to discuss ‘applying pressure' on Putin
A Russian air attack on Kyiv has injured at least five people and damaged a residential building, the head of the Ukrainian capital's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Monday via Telegram. British prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Donald Trump are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine when they meet in Scotland on Monday. Downing Street said the talks would include 'applying pressure' on Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the invasion. The two leaders have built a rapport on the world stage despite their differing political backgrounds, with Trump praising Starmer for doing a 'very good job' in office ahead of their talks on Monday, which will focus on the Middle East and trade. It comes after Trump announced a tariffs deal between the US and the European Union after meeting European commission president Ursula von der Leyen for high-stakes talks at Turnberry on Sunday. Von der Leyen called on Sunday for Volodymyr Zelenskyy to uphold independent anti-corruption bodies, with the Ukrainian president signalling legislation to that effect could be adopted within days. 'Ukraine has already achieved a lot on its European path,' von der Leyen said on X after a call with Zelenskyy. 'It must build on these solid foundations and preserve independent anti-corruption bodies, which are cornerstones of Ukraine's rule of law.' After a rare outburst of public criticism, Zelenskyy on Thursday submitted draft legislation to restore the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies – reversing course on an earlier bill aimed at stripping their autonomy. 'I thanked the European commission for the provided expertise,' Zelenskyy said on X after his Sunday call with von der Leyen. 'We share the same vision: it is important that the bill is adopted without delay, as early as next week.' Von der Leyen also promised continued support for Ukraine on its path to EU membership. Russia scaled down the festivities on Sunday honouring its navy, citing security concerns amid continuing Ukrainian drone attacks. Russian authorities cancelled the parades of warships in St Petersburg, in the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic and in the far-eastern port of Vladivostok that are usually held to mark the annual Navy Day celebrations. Asked about the reason for the cancellation in St Petersburg even as Putin arrived in his home city to visit the navy headquarters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that 'it's linked to the overall situation, security reasons, which are above all else'. The Russian defence ministry said air defences downed 99 Ukrainian drones in several regions overnight. Later in the day, it said another 51 drones were shot down near St Petersburg. A man was killed and three other people injured by drone fragments in the region around St Petersburg, according to local authorities. On the trip to St Petersburg, Putin vowed to build more warships and intensify the navy's training, adding: 'The navy's strike power and combat capability will rise to a qualitatively new level.' French president Emmanuel Macron had a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday and said later on X that he reaffirmed France's support for Kyiv and vowed to raise pressure on Moscow to force it to 'agree to a ceasefire that paves the way for talks leading to a solid and lasting peace, with full European involvement'.
Reuters
13 minutes ago
- Reuters
US, China to launch new talks on tariff truce extension, easing path for Trump-Xi meeting
STOCKHOLM, July 28 (Reuters) - Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials will resume talks in Stockholm on Monday to try to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies, aiming to extend a truce by three months and keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from U.S. duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo. The Stockholm talks come hot on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15% tariff on most EU goods exports to the U.S., including autos. The bloc will also buy $750 billion worth of American energy and make $600 billion worth of U.S. investments in coming years. No similar breakthrough is expected in the U.S.-China talks but trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May was likely. An extension of that length would prevent further escalation and facilitate planning for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November. A U.S. Treasury spokesperson declined comment on a South China Morning Post report quoting unnamed sources as saying the two sides would refrain from introducing new tariffs or other steps that could escalate the trade war for another 90 days. Trump's administration is poised to impose new sectoral tariffs that will impact China within weeks, including on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, ship-to-shore cranes and other products. "We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters on Sunday before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck their tariff deal. Previous U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing U.S. and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States. So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include U.S. complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that U.S. national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. "Geneva and London were really just about trying to get the relationship back on track so that they could, at some point, actually negotiate about the issues which animate the disagreement between the countries in the first place," said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "I'd be surprised if there is an early harvest on some of these things but an extension of the ceasefire for another 90 days seems to be the most likely outcome," Kennedy said. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already flagged a deadline extension and has said he wants China to rebalance its economy away from exports to more domestic consumption -- a decades-long goal for U.S. policymakers. Analysts say the U.S.-China negotiations are far more complex than those with other Asian countries and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on U.S. industries. In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October. Trump has said he will decide soon on a landmark trip to China, and a new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail planning. Sun Chenghao, a fellow at Tsinghua University's Center for International Security and Strategy in Beijing, said that a Trump-Xi summit would be an opportunity for the U.S. to lower the 20% tariffs on Chinese goods related to fentanyl. In exchange, he said the Chinese side could make good on its 2020 pledge to increase purchases of U.S. farm products and other goods. "The future prospect of the heads of state summit is very beneficial to the negotiations because everyone wants to reach an agreement or pave the way in advance," Sun said. Still, China will likely request a reduction of multi-layered U.S. tariffs totaling 55% on most goods and further easing of U.S. high-tech export controls, analysts said. Beijing has argued that such purchases would help reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China, which reached $295.5 billion in 2024.
