TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — President Donald Trump visited the opening of the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility on Tuesday.
Governor Ron DeSantis welcomed him with a tour of the facility.
DeSantis announced on Friday the new migrant detention center located deep in the Everglades will begin housing detainees as early as this week. The controversial facility is already under construction on the site of a nearly abandoned Miami-Dade County airport.
WATCH: President Trump and Gov. DeSantis at "Alligator Alcatraz"
United States Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) responded Tuesday by saying, “DeSantis’ internment camp puts decades of massive restoration and billions of dollars in Everglades investments at risk. It desecrates the tribal lands it sits upon and wastes hundreds of millions of state funding at a grossly inflated cost.”
WATCH: Governor DeSantis talk about the new deportation facility in the Everglades
Gubernatorial candidate David Jolly on Monday dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" as "a callous political stunt." He added "Florida’s most pressing challenge is the housing affordability crisis created by Republican leaders, not immigrants working to support our state’s economy."
On Saturday, the official Department of Homeland Security X account posted an AI-generated photo of the soon-to-be-built facility, featuring alligators representing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Coming soon! pic.twitter.com/v3DCJsrDwV
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 28, 2025
“You know, it might just be time we take a look if HOAs are really even necessary.
Maybe we should just do away with homeowner associations as a whole.”
South Florida lawmaker Rep. Juan Carlos Porras (R-Miami) says it may be time to do away with homeowners associations altogether, as more Floridians speak out about rising fees, costly lawsuits, and even arrests tied to HOA disputes. He said this week that he is considering filing legislation in the next session that would abolish HOAs statewide.
