Latest news with #AlligatorAlcatraz
Al Jazeera
20 minutes ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Florida governor announces deportation flights from Alligator Alcatraz
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has revealed that deportation flights have begun to depart from a remote detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz, as the Republican leader seeks to put his state at the forefront of President Donald Trump's immigration agenda. Speaking from the south Florida site on Friday, DeSantis framed his efforts as a model for other states seeking to partner with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 'I'm pleased to report that those flights out of Alligator Alcatraz by DHS have begun,' DeSantis told reporters. ' The reality is this provides an ability to enhance the mission, to increase the number and frequency of deportations. And so what's been done here has really been remarkable.' A representative for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Garrett Ripa, also confirmed that 'two or three removal flights' had already been conducted from the Alligator Alcatraz facility and that more were planned. He indicated that those flights contained ' up to a hundred individuals who were illegally present in the state of Florida'. Delegating resources President Trump campaigned for re-election last November on the promise that he would undertake the 'largest deportation operation in American history'. But with more than 11 million undocumented people believed to be living in the United States, critics have pointed out that his ambitions may outstrip the amount of detention space and resources the government has available. That has led the Trump administration to seek additional resources from state and local authorities, as well as assistance from foreign governments. He has also deployed the military to assist in immigration enforcement operations, a task traditionally outside its scope. Part of Trump's toolkit has been deputising state and local leaders through Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. While the federal government is solely responsible for immigration enforcement, Section 287(g) creates a loophole that allows ICE to enter into written agreements with state and local authorities to perform specific immigration-related functions. Speaking alongside DeSantis on Friday, Larry Keefe, the head of Florida's newly established State Board of Immigration Enforcement, said his team has already taken advantage of such arrangements. 'Just within the last couple of days, the federal government has issued credentials to over 1,200 Florida sheriff's deputies and over 650 FDLE [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] agents and other state and local law enforcement agencies,' Keefe said. 'We have more than doubled our capability and capacity to effect arrests.' Florida at the forefront Florida, however, has been testing the limits of what it is able to do independently in terms of cracking down on undocumented immigration within its state lines. Earlier this year, for instance, the Florida's Republican-led government passed a law, known as SB 4-C (PDF), that imposes stiff criminal penalties on adult undocumented immigrants who knowingly enter the state. But federal courts placed an injunction to prevent the law from taking effect, on the basis that it preempts the federal government's authority over all things immigration. Still, President Trump has hailed the aggressive immigration efforts in Florida, his adopted home state, where he maintains a residence, Mar-a-Lago, as well as golf courses. Earlier this month, he visited Alligator Alcatraz, applauding its fast-paced construction. 'This is what you need,' Trump said at the time. 'A lot of bodyguards and a lot of cops in the form of alligators.' Critics have denounced the facility as an exercise in cruelty, with reports emerging of poor conditions inside Alligator Alcatraz. Some immigrants have said they faced floodwater, poor sanitation, clogged toilets and clouds of mosquitoes as they stayed in fenced-in units where the lights were never dimmed. Environmental groups and Indigenous members of the local Seminole and Miccosukee tribes have also criticised the facility for its location in the middle of the Everglades wetlands, a sensitive ecosystem prone to seasonal flooding. Utilising an old airfield Built across eight days in June, Alligator Alcatraz sits atop the site of the former Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida. That set-up has been a benefit for plans to also use the facility for deportation flights, DeSantis said on Friday. He described transferring immigrants from their detention cells to planes with relative ease. 'One of the reasons why this was a sensible spot is because you have this runway that's right here,' DeSantis explained. 'You don't have to drive them an hour to an airport. You go a couple thousand feet, and they can be on a plane and out of here.' He added that the site already has runway lighting and 18,927 litres — or 5,000 gallons — of jet fuel on site. That, he hopes, will help pave the way for the number of deportation flights to increase in the coming weeks. ' The cadence is increasing,' DeSantis said. 'We've already had a number of flights in the last few days.' Alligator Alcatraz — named for a forbidding island prison in the San Francisco Bay that closed in the 1960s — has the capacity to hold up to 3,000 people, according to Florida officials. DeSantis has long positioned Florida as the 'blueprint' for what Republican leadership in the US could look like, and in 2023, he launched a short-lived presidential campaign to challenge Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Increasing the pace In his remarks on Friday, DeSantis briefly acknowledged the shortcomings in Trump's mass-deportation plans, playing up the efficiency of the Alligator Alcatraz system. 'ICE has been understaffed — you know, is not scratching the surface of what would need to be done to get to where you have the largest mass deportation in history,' he said. 'So you've got to increase that tempo. You have a limited amount of time to do it. I think we've got to assume we've got these four years under the Trump administration to really get the job done.' DeSantis also brushed aside concerns that the isolated facility cuts immigrants off from their legal representation and their right to be heard before a court. He pointed out that he plans to have immigration judges on site. But he also questioned whether undocumented people should be allowed the same due process rights as US citizens and immigrants with legal status. 'To me, it's like, if you are subjected to a traditional criminal process, there's a whole a bunch of due process that goes into that,' DeSantis said. By contrast, DeSantis argued that the immigration process 'should be a pretty simple process. You either have a right to be here or you don't.'
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Florida State Senator laments visit to Alligator Alcatraz, '32 men to a cage'
A Florida state senator lamented his recent visit to Alligator Alcatraz, a holding facility for illegal immigrants in Florida.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Heckler disrupts Ron DeSantis' speech at Hulk Hogan tribute over Alligator Alcatraz
A heckler launched into a profanity-filled rant on Thursday, blasting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' immigration policies during a news conference in Bradenton, according to Fox News report. File photo of Ron DeSantis(AP) The man, standing toward the back of the room, was seen on camera jumping up and pointing at DeSantis, yelling, 'Alligator Alcatraz — is that your f---ing legacy?' Security moved in as DeSantis cut himself off and shouted back. 'Hey, stop, stop! Stop! Get out of here! Get outta here!' the governor said while pointing toward the man. The heckler kept shouting as he was escorted out. The whole thing happened just three minutes into DeSantis' speech. He had been talking about watching Hogan's fight against André the Giant at WrestleMania III, according to Fox News report. 'I remember WrestleMania III. He was up …,' DeSantis began, before being cut off by the heckler's outburst. DeSantis had recently made news for promising $245 million to Alligator Alcatraz, a detention center in the Florida Everglades. Before the heckling, he opened the event with unscripted comments about Hogan's sudden death earlier that day in Clearwater. DeSantis said, 'I was sad to see the news that Hulk Hogan passed away today. He was a major icon for anybody in Gen X.' Hogan, born in Georgia and whose real name was Terry Bollea, grew up in the Tampa Bay area and lived in Florida most of his life. 'You know, back then, when they would do these big events like WrestleMania, you could go to it … they didn't even have pay-per-view. ... It was closed-circuit,' DeSantis said. Also Read: 'These are human beings you're laughing about': MAGA loyalist blasted for gleefully flaunting 'Alligator Alcatraz' hat Alligator Alcatraz had over 700 detainees as of July 13 According Miami Herald, Alligator Alcatraz had over 700 detainees as of July 13, even though it can hold up to 5,000. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier first proposed the site in late June, and it was built in just eight days, according to Fox News report. State officials turned the 39-square-mile Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into a new detention center. It sits deep in the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve. Gov. Ron DeSantis, former President Donald Trump, and other leaders held an opening event there on July 1. Since then, Alligator Alcatraz has faced a lot of criticism. Democratic lawmakers, environmental groups, and the ACLU have all filed lawsuits, raising concerns about the Constitution, the environment, and human rights.
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Deportation Flights Begin From Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
By and Fabiola Zerpa Save The US has begun deporting detainees from the makeshift immigration detention center in Florida dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Governor Ron DeSantis said. About 100 people were deported directly from the facility, while several hundred detainees have been transferred to other immigrant detention centers, DeSantis said. The facility, built at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades, has been touted by President Donald Trump as crucial to his plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Watch: Ron DeSantis's Hulk Hogan tribute interrupted by ‘Alligator Alcatraz' heckler
Ron DeSantis 's tribute to Hulk Hogan was interrupted by a heckler protesting 'Alligator Alcatraz.' The Florida governor was speaking in Bradenton on Thursday (24 July) and began reminiscing about the pro wrestling icon, who died earlier that day. A man in the crowd can then be heard shouting about 'Alligator Alcatraz,' a migrant detention center in the Everglades. 'Is that your f***ing legacy?' The heckler asks DeSantis. The governor repeatedly told the man to leave as he continued his tirade, and authorities escorted him out.
