‘Alligator Alcatraz’ supplies a political ‘boon’ for Ron DeSantis and his prime allies
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — On the route of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida is rapidly setting up a $450 million-a-year immigration detention heart within the coronary heart of the Everglades as a part of the state’s push to coordinate with President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda.
The power, which has been informally dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” has acquired heavy pushback and a authorized problem, nevertheless it has additionally been a boon for the nationwide profile of each DeSantis and his appointed legal professional common, James Uthmeier. Each have acquired waves of nationwide consideration — and a ensuing increase to their political inventory.
“They’re locking folks in a swamp in excessive warmth with no clear plan for humane circumstances,” Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones mentioned on a name with reporters organized by Florida Democrats on Friday morning.
The hassle was spearheaded by Uthmeier, DeSantis’ former chief of workers — whom he appointed this 12 months to function Florida legal professional common — with a purpose to create an immigrant-focused South Florida model of Alcatraz, the now-shuttered jail off the coast of San Francisco that was infamous for being practically inescapable as a result of it’s located within the San Francisco Bay, greater than a mile from land.
DeSantis has lengthy made immigration enforcement a linchpin of his political messaging, so the hassle to construct a headline-grabbing facility surrounded by swamps, snakes and alligators, is per the administration’s overarching coverage objectives.
However the effort has had the ancillary impact of amplifying his political profile after a failed 2024 presidential bid, and the fortunes of Uthmeier, who might be on the poll for the primary time through the 2026 midterms.
“That is going to be a drive multiplier, and we’re actually glad to be working with the federal authorities to fulfill President Trump’s mandate,” DeSantis mentioned Friday morning whereas touring the ability reside on “Fox & Mates.”
The transfer to additional increase Florida’s standing because the state working hardest to enact insurance policies that align with Trump’s immigration agenda is nothing new, however the creation of Alligator Alcatraz is with out query the highest-profile effort to this point, and it has include the advantage of being in style with the Republican base.
The Fox Information interview gave DeSantis a high-profile platform Friday, however since June 18, the time period “Alligator Alcatraz” has acquired distinctive mentions on each nationwide and native media roughly 3,400 occasions, in line with TVEyes, a service that screens media mentions. It’s a transparent indication that for the primary time since his failed presidential bid, DeSantis is breaking by way of the nationwide media ecosystem.
His supporters say his immigration insurance policies are the precise ones, and the great politics are only a pure byproduct.
“Apart from the financial system, immigration is the No. 1 problem amongst Republican voters,” mentioned Nick Iarossi, a Florida lobbyist and longtime DeSantis supporter. “So if the of the governor and legal professional common are robust on immigration and supportive of President Trump’s immigration agenda, that’s going to boost their reputation with the bottom and the president.”
“Alligator Alcatraz is designed to implement immigration legal guidelines and preserve folks secure,” he added. “It’s a win-win for them.”
Trump has but to chime in on the concept, however his Division of Homeland Safety supplied the wanted federal sign-off for Florida to function the ability, and Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem praised the hassle in a press release this week.
“Underneath President Trump’s management, we’re working at turbo velocity on cost-effective and modern methods to ship on the American folks’s mandate for mass deportations of prison unlawful aliens,” she mentioned. “We’ll increase services and mattress areas in simply days, due to our partnership with Florida.”
The White Home didn’t reply to a request in search of remark for this story.
A Trump adviser advised NBC Information that the president helps “any proposal or initiative that helps his effort to take away illegals from our nation,” however mentioned they had been not sure when, or if, Trump would touch upon the Florida thought publicly.
The power, the DeSantis administration says, is ready to begin housing detainees as quickly as Tuesday, simply seven days after development started. It has been blasted by Democrats, immigration activists and environmentalists involved concerning the influence of housing as much as 3,000 folks on among the most environmentally delicate land within the nation.
Environmental teams on Friday filed a lawsuit attempting to dam the plan, arguing it may have devastating results on the Everglades.
“The positioning is greater than 96% wetlands, surrounded by Massive Cypress Nationwide Protect, and is habitat for the endangered Florida panther and different iconic species,” mentioned Eve Samples, govt director of Mates of the Florida Everglades, which is among the many teams suing. “This scheme isn’t solely merciless, it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to guard.”
The land getting used, roughly two hours west of Miami, is a little-used airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County, nevertheless it was taken over by the state for the ability beneath emergency powers DeSantis enacted in 2023 as a part of his immigration crackdown. Underneath these powers, the state can seize the land for immigration enforcement-related actions.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat contemplating a run for governor in 2026, opposed the plan.
Regardless of the pushback, the DeSantis administration has executed the Uthmeier-led plan at a breakneck tempo.
Utilizing its emergency powers, Florida, led by its emergency administration division, has introduced in tents, development crews and transportable bathrooms, employed practically a dozen distributors, seized the land and mentioned the positioning is ready to be operational in simply seven days.
From a political perspective, the push to create an immigration detention heart in the midst of a Florida swamp has additionally helped fundraising.
Uthmeier is working to construct out his marketing campaign infrastructure forward of 2026 and has seen “a fundraising increase over the previous week,” in line with a marketing campaign supply aware of his numbers. The Republican Celebration of Florida has seen a rise in site visitors to its web site and donation hyperlinks of 400%-500% in the identical time interval, in line with a celebration official. It’s additionally began promoting “Alligator Alcatraz” merchandise, together with shirts and hats, on its web site.
It comes at a time when DeSantis’ political future is unsure. He’s term-limited and can’t search re-election as governor, however many suspect he’s as soon as once more eyeing a run for president in 2028. Early 2028 public polling has not been sort to DeSantis, typically displaying him trailing Vice President JD Vance, the present perceived front-runner, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who can also be from Florida.
“For a man who needs to run for president, I’m unsure how this might have gone any higher,” a veteran GOP pollster mentioned. “He wanted to attempt to break by way of someway, and to this point it appears to be working for him. I don’t know if he has an actual shot or not, however this type of factor can solely assist with the bottom who’s in search of the Trump inheritor obvious.”
For Uthmeier, it additionally boosts his profile, a wanted step for a little-known legal professional common who is keen to attempt to fend off a critical major challenger. DeSantis is beginning to get nationwide recognition for the Alligator Alcatraz thought, however in the end it was spearheaded by Uthmeier, who’s getting extra media consideration because of this.
“Alligator Alcatraz has been a boon for press for Florida, getting Governor DeSantis consideration,” Republican Celebration of Florida Chairman Evan Energy mentioned in a message to NBC Information. “A good larger winner although is Legal professional Basic James Uthmeier who has been a daily on TV promoting a tremendously in style thought with the Republican base.”
Regardless of the early political success, there’s nonetheless one threshold DeSantis has not but completely cleared: Trump’s public reward.
“We will land Air Power One proper there,” DeSantis mentioned throughout his “Fox & Mates” interview from the South Florida airstrip when requested about Trump coming to go to the positioning. “No drawback. We’ll get it performed.”
“I believe the president can be impressed with what these guys are doing out right here,” he mentioned.