Trump tours ‘Alligator Alcatraz' as he pushes for more deportations
OCHOPEE : US President Donald Trump on Tuesday toured a remote migrant detention centre in the Florida Everglades dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' as his Republican allies advanced a sweeping spending bill that could ramp up deportations.
The facility sits some 37 miles (60km) from Miami in a vast subtropical wetland teeming with alligators, crocodiles and pythons, fearsome imagery the White House has leveraged to show its determination to purge migrants it says were wrongly allowed to stay in the country under former president Joe Biden's administration.
Trump raved about the facility's quick construction as he scanned rows of dozens of empty bunk beds enclosed in cages and warned about the threatening conditions surrounding the facility.
'I looked outside and that's not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon,' Trump said at a roundtable event after his tour. 'We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is really deportation.'
The complex in southern Florida at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport is estimated to cost US$450 million annually and could house some 5,000 people, officials estimate.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has said he will send 100 National Guard troops there and that people could start arriving at the facility as soon as Wednesday.
In promoting the opening of the facility, US officials posted on social media images of alligators wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement hats. The Florida Republican Party is selling gator-themed clothing and beer koozies.
Two environmental groups filed a legal motion last week seeking to block further construction of the detention site, saying it violated federal, state and local environmental laws.
The lawsuit, filed in US district court, said construction will lead to traffic, artificial light and the use of large power generators, all of which would 'significantly impact' the environment.
The groups, Friends of the Everglades and Center for Biological Diversity, said the site is located at or near the Big Cypress National Preserve, a protected area that is a habitat for endangered Florida panthers and other animals.
'Putting aside whether intractable political gridlock over immigration reform constitutes an 'emergency,' it does not give license to the state and federal governments to simply disregard the laws that govern federal projects affecting environmentally sensitive lands, essential waterways, national parks and preserves, and endangered species,' the groups wrote.
Some local leaders, including from the nearby Miccosukee and Seminole tribes, have objected to the facility's construction and the construction has drawn crowds of demonstrators.
Trump dismissed environmental concerns on Tuesday, saying in wide-ranging remarks that the wetlands' wildlife would outlast the human species. He said the detention facility was a template for what he'd like to do nationwide.
'We'd like to see them in many states,' Trump said.
Hardline policies
The Republican-controlled US Senate voted on Tuesday to pass a bill that adds tens of billions of dollars for immigration enforcement alongside several of the president's other tax-and-spending plans.
Trump has lobbied fiercely to have the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday, and the measure still needs a final sign-off from the house of representatives.
The Republican president, who maintains a home in Florida, has for a decade made hardline border policies central to his political agenda. One in eight 2024 US election voters said immigration was the most important issue.
But Trump's campaign pledges to deport as many as 1 million people per year have run up against protests by the affected communities, legal challenges, employer demands for cheap labor and a funding crunch for a government running chronic deficits.
Lawyers for some of the detained migrants have challenged the legality of the deportations and criticized the conditions in temporary detention facilities.
The numbers in federal immigration detention have risen sharply to 56,000 by June 15, from 39,000 when Trump took office, government data show, and his administration has pushed to find more space.
The White House has said the detentions are a necessary public safety measure, and some of the detained migrants have criminal records, though US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention statistics also show an eight-fold increase in arrests of people charged only with immigration violations.
Trump has spoken admiringly of vast, isolated prisons built by El Salvador and his administration has held some migrants at the Guantanamo Bay naval base, in Cuba, best known for housing foreign terrorism suspects following the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
US representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat who represents a district near the Florida facility, said in an emailed statement that 'Trump and Republicans badly need this wasteful, dangerous, mass misery distraction' from a bill that would cause state residents to lose their health care benefits.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
US Senate report faults Secret Service discipline after Trump shooting
FILE PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump is assisted by the Secret Service after gunfire rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo (Reuters) -A U.S. Senate report released on Sunday said a "cascade" of failures allowed a gunman to shoot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year and faulted Secret Service discipline including the lack of firings in the wake of the attack. The report, released a year after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear, accused the Secret Service of a pattern of negligence and communications breakdowns in planning and execution of the rally. "This was not a single error. It was a cascade of preventable failures that nearly cost President Trump his life," the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee report said. The Secret Service is charged with protecting current and former presidents and their families, as well visiting foreign leaders and some other senior officials. One attendee of the July 13, 2014, rally was killed and two others were injured in the shooting. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was subsequently shot to death by Secret Service agents. "This was not a single lapse in judgment. It was a complete breakdown of security at every level — fueled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats," the committee's Republican chairman, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, said in a statement. Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the director of the Secret Service 10 days after the shooting, amid harsh scrutiny of the agency's role, and six Secret Service agents on duty during the attempt received suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days, the agency said on Thursday. The committee said more than six officials should have been punished, and that two of those who were disciplined received lighter punishments than it had recommended. It highlighted the fact that no one was fired. Current Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement that the agency has received the report and will continue to cooperate with the committee. "Following the events of July 13, the Secret Service took a serious look at our operations and implemented substantive reforms to address the failures that occurred that day," Curran said. (Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Scott Malone and Chizu Nomiyama )
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
In a show of unity against Trump, Brazil and India vow to triple trade flows
As US President Donald Trump revved up his tariff threat against Brics, Brazil and India responded with a show of unity as they vowed to triple bilateral trade during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Brasilia on Tuesday. Describing the US dollar as the 'king', Trump on Tuesday claimed that Brics was set up to hurt the US and 'degenerate' the dollar. He added that Brics nations, including India and Brazil, would 'have to pay 10 per cent if they're in Brics'. Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Full access to Web and App. RM 13.90/month RM 9.73 /month Billed as RM 9.73 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter. RM 12.39/month RM 8.63 /month Billed as RM 103.60 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.
Malay Mail
7 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Trump's dealmaker name on the line in high stakes tariff talks
WASHINGTON, July 13 — President Donald Trump set out early in his second term to fulfill a decades-long desire of reshaping US trade with the world, but the main outcomes so far have been discord and uncertainty. The real estate tycoon, who has staked his reputation on being a consummate dealmaker, embarked on an aggressive strategy of punitive tariffs that his administration predicted could bring '90 deals in 90 days.' The score so far? Two. Three if you count a temporary de-escalation agreement with China. The 90-day deadline was due on July 9, with dozens of economies including the European Union, India and Japan facing tariff hikes without a deal. But days before it arrived, Trump issued a delay to August 1. It was his second extension since unveiling the tariffs in April—reigniting the 'Taco Theory' that has gained traction among some Wall Street traders. The acronym coined by a Financial Times writer stands for 'Trump Always Chickens Out,' highlighting the president's inclination to roll back policies if markets turn sour. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, part of Trump's multi-leader trade team, has reportedly been a key advocate for the pauses. But the label has irked Trump and he insisted Tuesday that the deadline had always been in August. 'I didn't make a change. A clarification, maybe,' Trump said at a cabinet meeting. This week, he published more than 20 letters dictating tariff rates to world leaders including in Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. 'We invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World, by far,' Trump wrote. He also issued letters to the EU, Canada, Mexico and Brazil—although Brazil was not previously targeted by the steeper 'reciprocal' tariffs and Canada and Mexico face a separate tariff regime. The documents 'appear to be Trump's way of combatting the Taco label,' said Inu Manak, a fellow for trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. 'He wants to show that he's not just kicking the can down the road on the deadline, but that he means business,' she told AFP. 'He's likely frustrated that there isn't a parade of deals coming in.' 'Politically complicated' 'The shift in his rhetoric from 'there is no cost—the foreigners pay the tariffs' to 'there is a short term cost, but there will be a long term gain' has put him in a more politically complicated position,' said William Reinsch, senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Trump has repeatedly claimed that foreign countries foot the bill for tariffs, although the reality is more complicated with US companies generally paying them. 'In the public's mind, the tariffs are the pain, and the agreements will be the gain,' said Reinsch, a former US commerce official. He warned that without trade agreements, Americans could conclude Trump's strategy was flawed and deem his tactics a failure. While the 90-deal goal was probably unrealistic, Reinsch said, 'it's clear that three (UK, China, Vietnam) with only one actual text made public (UK) is too small.' Deflecting attention Meanwhile, Trump has announced a 50 per cent levy on copper imports starting August 1. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said officials would also conclude investigations into semiconductors and pharmaceuticals—which could lead to tariffs—at month-end. 'That timing is not coincidental—it lines up with the new deadline of August 1, adding more pressure and deflecting attention from any lack of deals that get made in that time frame,' Manak said. Analysts believe Trump's supporters will likely not pay much attention to trade talks unless the tariffs fuel inflation. 'Trade policy is not top-of-mind for the average voter,' said Emily Benson, head of strategy at Minerva Technology Futures. She expects the Trump administration's focus on boosting US manufacturing and reinvigorating the defense industrial base means it could be willing to bear some political heat to achieve those objectives. But it's a delicate balance. Voters will likely pay more attention if Trump follows through on his August tariff threats, Manak said. 'And we could see a negative market reaction as well, which would not go unnoticed.' — AFP
