President Donald Trump on Tuesday visited the official opening of an immigration detention camp in Florida’s Everglades that is surrounded by alligators dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" and said officials there would prioritize deporting the "worst of the worst" first.
The 3,000-bed facility is set to become the largest migrant detention center in the U.S., built as part of the Trump administration’s effort to deport the millions who flooded the country under the Biden administration.
Florida National Guard members will be deputized as immigration judges, allowing migrants to have hearings within 48 hours, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned illegal migrants to self-deport or else risk ending up at the facility.
"Worst of the worst always first and I think it's great government what we've done," Trump said on the airport ramp shortly after disembarking Air Force One.
"Nobody can ever forget what this group of people, Biden or whoever it was. It probably wasn’t even Biden, I don’t think he knew what the hell he was doing. A small group of people who surrounded the Resolute Desk, what they did to this country."
Trump praised the facility as "beautiful, so secure," with alligators and law enforcement portraying a hardline image.
After touring the facility, Trump said that some of the most "menacing migrants" will be held there. "Some of the most vicious people on the planet," Trump said. "We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation."
DeSantis authorized the construction of the illegal immigrant detention center on a sprawling property in the Everglades' swamplands of Miami–Dade County under an emergency order. It took eight days to construct, will cost $450 million per year to operate and the Sunshine State will be fully reimbursed by the federal government.
The property is a former airport that has been outfitted with sturdy tent structures to house the thousands of illegal immigrants. The detention center earned its name due to its location in the heart of the Everglades, which is home to massive reptiles such as alligators and pythons. Officials have said the alligators could serve as a deterrent for escape.
FLORIDA BUILDING 'ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ' WHERE ICE DETAINEES FACE NATURE'S OWN SECURITY SYSTEM
DeSantis, who flanked Trump with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, said the facility was built using the airport’s existing concrete infrastructure, with temporary structures providing essential services like the beds, medical care and food preparation.
The governor said the center will be used to fast-track immigration cases.
"We’re offering up our National Guard and other folks in Florida to be deputized to be immigration judges," De Santis said.
"We’ll have people here in this facility that can make [legal decisions]... Someone has a notice to appear — Biden would tell him to come back in three years... here, you’ll be able to appear like a day or two."
"So we want to cut through that so that we have an efficient operation between Florida and DHS to get the removal of these illegals done."
Noem acknowledged the collaboration between Florida and DHS, framing it as a potential model for other states.
"Florida was unique in what they presented to us, and I would ask every other governor to do the exact same thing," Noem said. "This is unique because we can hold individuals here. They can have their hearings. It’s a process."
She also warned illegal migrants to self-deport or else risk being detained at the high-security facility.
"They don’t have to come here, if they self-deport and go home, they can come back legally," Noem said. "But if you wait and we bring you to this facility, you don’t ever get to come back to America. You don’t get the chance to come back and be an American again."
Environmentalists and Democrats have come out against the detention center, including lining up along Highway 41, which runs through the Everglades, to protest its construction Saturday. Protesters held signs declaring, "Another stupid plan to abuse people & the Everglades," "No Alligator Alcatraz" or signs demanding ICE is pushed "out of Florida," photos show.
Various federal and state agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and Florida's Division of Emergency Management, were additionally hit with a lawsuit Friday spearheaded by a pair of environmentalist groups that claim the detention facility will disrupt and threaten the Everglades ecosystem, the Associated Press reported.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.