Ron DeSantis claims ‘zero’ environmental impact by Alligator Alcatraz. That’s false

Poynter · Gabrielle Lazor · last updated July 14, 2025 – 2:13 AM

The name for Florida’s migrant detention center, Alligator Alcatraz, is a nod to the facility’s remote location atop an idle airstrip in the Florida Everglades teeming with alligators and pythons.

The first detainees arrived at Alligator Alcatraz on July 2, the Miami Herald reported, despite environmentalists’ efforts to halt the project.

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