MIAMI — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is backing a controversial proposal that would create what he calls “Alligator Alcatraz” — a massive immigration detention facility in the heart of the Everglades.
In an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday, Uthmeier revealed that state officials are eyeing a large parcel of Miami-Dade County–owned land that includes its own airstrip. If approved, the remote site would become Florida’s largest immigration detention center — and one of the most unusual in the country.
“If somebody were to get out, there’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Only the alligators and pythons are waiting,” Uthmeier told Fox correspondent Danamarie McNicholl. “That’s why I like to call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’”