Latest news with #ClydeButcher
CBS News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Jim speaks with famed Everglades photographer Clyde Butcher about Alligator Alcatraz
Alligator Alcatraz JJim speaks with famed Everglades photographer Clyde Butcher about the pending opening of Alligator Alcatraz and it's potential impact on the River of Grass. A controversial immigration detention center being constructed in the Everglades is just days away from opening. On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis gave Jim Doocy from "Fox and Friends" a tour of the site dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." DeSantis said the facility will begin taking in those not in this country legally on Tuesday, the facility can hold 5,000 detainees. The governor shared how this operation will help with the Trump administration's mandate to crackdown on illegal immigration. He said there are about 50,000 undocumented immigrants in Florida who have been ordered removed by an immigration judge. About the issue The detention facility is being set up at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, an aviation training facility with its own runway. DeSantis said the facility will help with intake, processing and deportation. "We've got a massive runway right behind us where any of the federal assets, if they want to fly these people back to their own country, they can do it, it's a one stop shop," DeSantis said. DeSantis said the facility will not impact the training flights at the airport. The Division of Emergency Management will handle the operations and the Florida National Guard will deploy about 100 soldiers next week to secure the perimeter and entry points. Four massive tents complete with banks of portable air conditioners will house the detainees. "Illegals will come in, they will be processed, there are places for them to be housed. You'll have the ability for food, there will also be the ability for them to consult legal rights if they have that," DeSantis said. "It's being done right, it's being done by the book," he added. On Friday, environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday to block the opening of a facility until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal law.
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Miami Herald
Where is ‘Alligator Alcatraz'? In the heart of the Glades, out past the airboat rides
The state of Florida's controversial new immigration detention facility dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' sits smack in the center of the Florida Everglades. The project — which initially will consist of tents, trailers and portable bathrooms — is located on the north side of the historic east-west corridor long known as the Tamiami Trail but formally designated as U.S. 41. The camp is being quickly thrown up on the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a property owned by Miami-Dade and recently seized by the state. Few travelers would even notice the road leading to the airport gate as they zoom by at 60 mph-plus. The site lies about 40 miles west of the Miami International Airport and about halfway to Naples, out past a series of tourist stops offering airboat rides like Coopertown and Everglades Safari. It's also west of the Shark Valley outpost in Everglades National Park, famed for its tram rides and long biking trail. The closest large landmark to its east is the Miccosukee Indian Village. Drive west and there are a string of camp grounds, then 10 miles later you'll see famed Everglades photographer Clyde Butcher's Big Cypress Gallery. Keep going and you'll pass Skunk Ape Research Center, an attraction devoted to the mythical swamp dweller. A little further and you'll see the Ochopee Post Office, reputed to be the smallest operating post office in the country. The facility is within Big Cypress National Preserve, federally protected land, and surrounded on three sides by Miccosukee and Seminole tribal infrastructure, including homes and ceremonial sites. The airport was constructed in the 1960s as part of an ill-fated effort to build the largest airport in the nation, the Everglades Jetport, before environmentalists shut it down. Since then, the airport has served as a training ground — or emergency landing spot — for pilots of planes large and small.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Outrage grows over "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention center rising in heart of Everglades
Immigration holding facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" said to be ready in days Immigration holding facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" said to be ready in days Immigration holding facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" said to be ready in days A controversial migrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" is rapidly taking shape deep in the Florida Everglades. The facility is drawing sharp criticism from environmental advocates, tribal leaders and local officials who say the project threatens drinking water and protected land. Critics say plan endangers water and wildlife "When I saw it, I thought it was a joke," said Betty Osceola, an advocate for the Miccosukee Indian Tribe. But as construction began at the remote Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport off U.S. 41, Osceola realized it was not a joke but "reality—and moving fast." "It's in a preserve that supplies 40 percent of our drinking water," she said. State moves forward despite legal, environmental concerns Over the weekend, protesters—including renowned photographer Clyde Butcher, whose studio lies just eight miles from the site—lined the roadway in opposition. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava expressed concern and said the county is reviewing legal options. The county had requested an environmental review before any construction, but Florida's Division of Emergency Management responded in a letter that they are proceeding. A social media post from Homeland Security stated the center could be finished in days and touted it as delivering "on the American people's mandate for mass deportations."
