President Donald Trump is expected to attend the official opening of the controversial immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades on Tuesday.
The Palm Beach Post on Sunday reported that FAA data showed Trump was in South Florida to open the facility. Two White House officials and one Florida official are well versed in the travels, and it has been confirmed that Trump is in attendance as “highly likely.”
The facility is located on a small runway in Miami-Dade County, and Governor Ron DeSantis’s management used the emergency to build a residential facility for undocumented immigrants. Desantis issued an emergency order focusing on immigration in early 2023, and has since extended it many times. This measure gives him important authority to take actions such as grabbing the land. Some local political leaders in Miami-Dade County have opposed DeSantis taking land for the Everglades-based detention center, some political leaders.
The facility was quickly set up by the DeSantis administration (in about a week) and was the brain child of Florida Attorney General James Usmyer, former Chief of Staff of DeSantis and one of his top political advisers.
Environmental groups filed a lawsuit Friday attempting to block the plan, claiming it could have a catastrophic effect on the Everglades.
“The site is more than 96% wetlands surrounded by the Big Cypress National Reserve and is home to endangered Florida Panthers and other iconic species,” said Evesampam, executive director of Friends at Florida Everglades. “The scheme is not only cruel, but also threatens the Everglades ecosystem, which has spent billions on protecting state and federal taxpayers.”
It was revealed that hundreds of people protested the construction of the facility on Saturday. It is expected to have 5,000 immigrant detention beds.
“Alligator Alcatraz” is hyped as the most famous example of promoting Florida to become the nation that most actively sought to work with Trump’s immigration agenda.
The facility is estimated to cost $450 million a year and has been approved by the Department of Homeland Security.
The facility has attracted national attention and brought media and political benefits to both Uthmeier and Desantis, who toured the facility to Fox News on Friday.
With the exception of the important national media attention reported by NBC News on Saturday, both Uthmeier and Florida Republicans are serving both Florida Republicans.
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