There’s no greater visual than “Alligator Alcatraz” to grasp the differences in the Department of Homeland Security under former Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and new Secretary Kristi Noem.
Mayorkas, Joe Biden’s secretary, attempted to end Title 42, a section of U.S. Code which allows the government to prohibit the entry of foreign individuals or groups if their presence is believed to introduce or spread disease.
It had been invoked by Donald Trump during his first term in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayorkas also opted for “case management programs” for illegals instead of detention and advocated increased pathways to asylum and resettlement of illegals.
Noem has broadened the definition of “deportable.” She has also resurrected and expanded Title 42-style expulsion policies and has aggressively expanded detention capacity.
Detention is where Florida’s new holding center for illegals, christened Tuesday as Alligator Alcatraz, comes into play.
“I think that what this represents is a fundamental shift with how the department was working in the past administration to what the department is doing now under the leadership of Secretary Noem and the leadership of President Trump,” Micah Bock, a communications officer with the Department of Homeland Security, said on American Family Radio Wednesday.
Alligator Alcatraz is a partnership between the State of Florida and federal immigration agencies like DHS and Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis used his executive powers through “emergency authorization” to push the project forward.
New facility filling up fast
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American Family Radio show host Jenna Ellis was among the guests invited to the tour of "Alligator Alcatraz" on Tuesday. 
"This is a perfect example of federalism – of federal government and state government partnership – to effectuate a policy that is good not just for the people of the state of Florida, but for America overall … and you just love to see it," says Ellis. "It was an incredible opportunity to go and tour this facility and to actually see this coming together in such a short time. This is something that is so efficient, so prepared, so rapid that it's going to be so good for America – and I hope that we can continue this policy." Ellis argues that the Left tried to paint the opening of the facility as just optics so Republicans can paint the Democrats as the "party of open-border policy." "And I'm thinking, 'Well, you guys kind of did that yourselves because that is actually what you stand for.' And frankly this has nothing to do with Republicans versus Democrats. This is all about America first, this is all about enforcing our laws, and this is all about ensuring that we actually are a nation of laws, a nation of borders." |
It opens with the capacity to hold 3,000 detainees with plans to hold up to 5,000. It uses prefabricated housing, converted military barracks and tents to hold inmates.
Located in the Florida Everglades, the site was quickly dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” due to its isolated setting and the fact that it is surrounded by actual swamps with actual alligators.
Current detainees are mostly recent unauthorized border crossers who were bused or flown in from Texas, Arizona and California.
Another difference between Noem and Mayorkas is use of federal funds.
The same Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program – Shelter and Services Program (SSP) – that the Biden Administration used to house illegals in New York City hotels is now being used to reimburse Florida for some construction and operational costs for Alligator Alcatraz.
NYC received roughly $59 million through SSP in February of this year. Nineteen million went to reimburse the city for hotel costs. The remainder went for food, security and other illegal immigrant services.
Chicago and Los Angeles also received SSP funds for costs for illegals.
Florida is expected to receive $625 million in reimbursed costs through SSP.
State officials are pursuing plans to build a second similar detention center for illegals, The Associated Press reported.
DeSantis in late June said he hoped Florida could help the Trump administration more than double its existing 41,000 beds for illegals and reach a goal of at least 100,000 beds nationwide.
“Now those same funds that were giving key cards to illegal aliens are going to be used to keep illegal criminal aliens under lock and key down in the great state of Florida,” Bock said.
What the seething critics are saying
Alligator Alcatraz critics are lined up and loud.
Immigration advocates argue the setup violates detainees’ rights to proper asylum processing and humane conditions.
Civil rights groups have filed for injunctions, citing possible violations of the Flores Agreement -- a legal agreement established in 1997 that sets national minimum standards for the treatment, placement, and release of detained immigrant children in the United States -- and 8th Amendment protections.
Democratic members of Congress have called for an investigation.
Others say the detention center will have a negative impact on the Everglades.
DeSantis disagrees and says the construction at an isolated airfield will have “zero impact” on Everglades restoration.
“Our partnership at the state level through the 287G program at Alligator Alcatraz with the Florida government is not something that just exists within the state of Florida. We have 287G arrangements with many other states across the country, and we're working very closely with our state and local partners to make sure that we are able to provide information to them and they're able to provide resources to us as we go out and execute the President's mandate to round up criminal legal aliens on our streets,” Bock said.
The 287G program is a partnership between ICE and local law enforcement that allows designated officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions.
Local officers receive ICE training, typically 4-5 weeks’ worth, and are authorized to:
-- Check immigration status of detainees.
-- Issue immigration detainers.
-- Start the deportation process under ICE supervision.
Trump and DeSantis see Alligator Alcatraz as furthering the blueprint for America provided by voters last November.
“I think it's really important to note that the utilization of these funds to build and create Alligator Alcatraz is something that the American people are going to be very excited to see. We had a FEMA organization that was doing a disservice to the American people and allowing criminal legal aliens in and providing them transport. Those funds are now being repurposed for the exact opposite,” Bock said.
7/3/2025 - Sidebar added.
