Feds begin flights out of Alligator Alcatraz, officials urge undocumented to self-deport
Flights out of a remote state-run detention center in the Florida Everglades have started, according to state and federal officials.
At a press conference at the South Detention Facility, also known as Alligator Alcatraz, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has started to fly undocumented immigrants out of the detention center "in the last few days."
"Hundreds of illegals have been removed from here," DeSantis said.
A USA TODAY Network review of recent flights to the site does not indicate any international flights or arrivals and departures of large airplanes from the center.
Instead, flight-tracking systems show the intermittent arrival and departure of smaller planes that appear to hold fewer than 20 passengers at a time. On July 25, flight-tracking systems showed a privately owned Cessna 182 that took off from Miami had closely circled the site approximately 20 times.
DeSantis later clarified that out of the hundreds flown out of the detention facility, 100 people have been removed from the United States after having been transferred to an ICE facility in Louisiana or other "hubs" to be sorted and then flown to another country.
He said no one from the Everglades center had been flown to the U.S. immigration prison in El Salvador.
Garrett J. Ripa, the field office director for ICE and enforcement and removal operations' Miami field office, said DHS has carried out "two or three removal flights."
State detains, federal government transports immigrants
While the state operates the South Detention Facility, the removal of undocumented immigrants is under federal jurisdiction. In 2022, when DeSantis and the state of Florida chartered two flights from the U.S.-Mexico border to Martha's Vineyard, immigration law experts questioned the constitutionality of the flights, warning they could cause legal issues.
Friday's announcement of the DHS flights also came with harsh threats by Florida's leaders.
"I make no apologies for saying illegal immigration is a scourge on this country. It needs to stop, it needs to stop now," said Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia. "And if there's any illegal immigrant listening to my voice right now, self deport. Use the app. We will get you home. Do not come here, because you will be removed."
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, people who self-deport through the CBP Home App will also receive a stipend of $1,000 dollars, paid after their return to their home country has been confirmed.
"It is my strong recommendation to you that if you do not take up (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem on the CBP Home option to return home, that you will very likely be in a place just like this, if not this place" said Larry Keefe, the director of the State Immigration Enforcement Council.
"You will be here for the entire duration of the time that you are exhausting your due process rights. You will not be living freely in our communities while you're awaiting the due process to take place for years or months."
Officials also used the press conference to argue with their critics.
Immigration advocates, Democrats and environmental activists have denounced the center since its inception. Allegations include sub-standard facilities for detainees, lack of oversight and transparency in the state's vendor contracts, environmental impacts on the surrounding area (Big Cypress National Preserve) and safety issues.
"I've taken a little bit of heat in the media that the EM (emergency management) guy is not taking care of hurricane season," said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. "That is absolutely, unequivocally false."
He also refuted allegations that detainees are not receiving adequate food or medical attention: "We have a medical doctor on site. We have nurse practitioners on site. We have RNs and a complete medical staff. We can deal with trauma on site. We have four paramedics on duty at all times in conjunction with the medical staff."
"All of that is false, every single bit of it," Guthrie said.
DeSantis said the increase of funds included in the federal government "One Big Beautiful Bill" would increase the number of detainees and deportations. The legislation secures $170 billion for immigration and border-related activities for DHS.
More: Big Beautiful Bill 101: What you need to know about the new law
In Florida, the number of removal cases so far this U.S. fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025) is more than the total of the year before. In 2025, there have been approximately 91,406 removal cases in Florida immigration courts, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), which tracks immigration data.
DeSantis said he hopes to see more flights out of the Everglades detention center to justify opening up a second facility at Camp Blanding in Clay County.
"This is making a difference, this is just the opening stage," DeSantis said. "You're going to see this really ramp up."
USA TODAY reporter Trevor Hughes contributed to this story. Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
American Military News
2 hours ago
- American Military News
Video: Florida opening another illegal immigrant detention center after Alligator Alcatraz success
Florida is preparing to open another illegal immigrant detention facility following the recent establishment of 'Alligator Alcatraz.' Florida officials have confirmed that the new facility, which will be called the 'Deportation Depot,' will initially be capable of holding 1,300 illegal immigrants. Announcing the new illegal immigrant detention facility on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) said, 'We are authorizing and will be soon opening this new illegal immigration detention, processing, and deportation facility here in North Florida. We are calling this the Deportation Depot.' In a Thursday press release, the Florida governor noted that the Deportation Depot will be housed at the Baker Correctional Institution, which is located in Sanderson, Florida. According to Fox News, while the new detention facility, which has been dormant since 2021, will initially be able to hold 1,300 beds for illegal immigrants, the facility could eventually be expanded to hold 2,000 beds. As part of Thursday's announcement, DeSantis emphasized that officials do not merely want to 'house people indefinitely' at the Deportation Depot and Alligator Alcatraz, but to 'process, stage, and then return illegal aliens to their home country.' READ MORE: Pic: 'Worst' illegal immigrants to be held at new ICE facility in Indiana, Trump admin says 'That is the name of the game, and that's what we do in Florida,' DeSantis said. 'We know that this is an important national priority, not only of President Trump, but of the American people. Of all the issues in the election, I can tell you, this immigration and border issue was either the top or right near the top on all people's minds, and so we have identified this location.' DeSantis explained that the new Deportation Depot facility will feature the same services that are offered at Alligator Alcatraz and that the costs associated with the new facility will be reimbursed by the federal government. In Thursday's press release, DeSantis said the development of another illegal immigrant detention facility in Florida builds on the success of the Alligator Alcatraz facility in the Everglades. DeSantis added, 'We'll enforce the law, we'll hold the line, and we will keep delivering results.' The governor's office emphasized that Florida is 'setting the standard' for how individual states can work with President Donald Trump's administration to protect American citizens from the 'scourge of illegal immigration.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Florida city's Riverwalk still a homeless hot spot despite new anti-camping law, critics say
FORT LAUDERDALE — Riverwalk has lush greenery, luxury yachts and landscaped gardens. To the chagrin of critics, the charming promenade on the New River also has plenty of homeless people who come and go all hours of the day and night. On occasion, some of them doze on the benches and winding path along the Riverwalk, in violation of a statewide ban on camping and sleeping in public places. The new law went into effect Oct. 1. Frustrated neighborhood leaders shipped off a blistering letter of complaint in late June to several government officials, from Gov. Ron DeSantis to the entire Broward County commission and the entire Fort Lauderdale commission. The letter, signed by leaders of nine condos near Riverwalk and five civic associations, included eight photos of homeless people sleeping or camping downtown. A ninth photo showed a nude man in broad daylight soaking his feet in one of downtown's water fountains. Residents who live in the pricey condo towers lining Riverwalk think of the winding walkway as their front yard, said Melinda Bowker, president of the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Civic Association and one of the signers on the letter. 'People feel threatened,' Bowker told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. 'I don't want to demonize the homeless people. But residents on the Riverwalk don't feel safe anymore. People aren't comfortable walking by themselves at night. We just want to bring a light to it. And we want to get to the bottom of what can be done.' Here's how the letter began: 'Our downtown neighborhood is facing a crisis. The visibility and severity of homelessness in our area has reached an unsustainable level. The rise in vagrancy, open drug use, aggressive panhandling, indecent exposure and public health hazards have made downtown residents feel increasingly unsafe in their own city. 'We have documented incidents of residents being harassed, chased, mugged, and even physically threatened in broad daylight and during evening hours. These occurrences are not isolated — they are frequent and growing.' City Manager Rickelle Williams quickly responded to the letter with an email listing all the ways Fort Lauderdale is tackling the problem. According to Williams, the city's multi-faceted approach includes: Increasing police presence downtown: The police department's Homeless Outreach Team conducts daily rounds to connect homeless individuals with services and address criminal activity through Notices to Appear. The city has requested federal funding to expand police presence in hot-spot areas citywide, including downtown, and is awaiting the release of those funds. Enhancing outreach efforts: In conjunction with the TaskForce Fore Ending Homelessness, two housing navigation teams are working daily to build trust and help individuals secure housing. Community Court has set up a downtown location to help people connect to critical services on a weekly basis. Enforcing existing ordinances: To help tackle unauthorized camping, the city launched a reporting tool last October through its FixIT FTL app and also added two police officers to its Homeless Outreach Team. The city so far has responded to more than 160 homeless-related inquiries about camping or sleeping on public property. Riverwalk signage and hours of operation: Signage will be installed along the entirety of Riverwalk by the end of August alerting the public that Riverwalk is closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to any activity other than pass-through pedestrian traffic. Electrical outlets throughout Riverwalk: In response to complaints about homeless people using electrical outlets on lamp posts to charge their cellphones, the city is considering sturdier covers for outlets that cannot be turned off. Several outlets are connected to lamp posts, so disconnecting the outlet will result in the light turning off. In the future, as light fixtures are replaced, the city might place electrical outlets higher up on lamp posts to curb unauthorized use. Police patrol of Riverwalk: The city currently deploys police and park rangers to Riverwalk. The Homeless Outreach Team regularly patrols the area with a focus on sections known to be routinely used by homeless individuals. Commissioner Steve Glassman, whose district includes the Riverwalk, said the city is doing all it can within the bounds of the law to tackle the issue. 'It's a tricky balance dealing with the homeless,' Glassman said. 'When you're walking along the Riverwalk, people don't like to see it. But it is a public space. You can't get too aggressive without violating people's rights. That said, any illegal behavior is not going to be tolerated. But again, Riverwalk is a public space and it is open to everyone.' Fans of the new state law had high hopes it would help get more homeless people off the streets in quick fashion. But so far, that has not happened, critics say. 'You can't just snatch people off of a bench on Riverwalk if they're not violating any laws,' Glassman said. 'What do you do? Do you just make people disappear? No one likes to see it, but (homeless individuals) do have rights. Should we be like ICE, popping out of a Penske truck and taking people away? It happened at a Home Depot in California. They called it the 'Trojan Horse' attack. It's always going to be a difficult balance. But I think we're going above and beyond in the city of Fort Lauderdale.' Brian Kavalsky, director of the WaterGarden condo board, said he'd like to see the city do more. Kavalsky walks his dogs along the Riverwalk before 4 a.m. and routinely encounters homeless people, many of them snoozing away. Kavalsky spotted a man sleeping on a bench before 3 a.m. Thursday. He snapped a photo and texted it to the Sun Sentinel. Kavalsky said he didn't report it to the city because he figured by the time the police showed up, the man would be gone. In Kavalsky's eyes, the homeless crisis has gotten worse in the past year. The Riverwalk is just one of the city's many homeless hot spots, he noted. 'Part of the problem is we have the jail right here downtown,' Kavalsky said. 'We're never going to get the homeless population down to zero. The key is enforcement. That will help the Riverwalk. If they have a cop walking that route every two hours and kicking everyone out, they'll be gone.' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump is deporting so many immigrants that it could cause inflation to hit 4% next year, top economist says
Donald Trump's new immigration policies—including deporting, the White House claims, about 750 immigrants a day on average—are helping drive up prices, Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi told Fortune. He says if Trump continues deporting immigrants at the current rate, inflation will go from 2.5% to somewhere close to 4% 'by the time it hits its peak early next year.' Zandi says his stark prediction is based on recent inflation data. 'Foreign-born labor force is declining, and the overall labor force has gone flat since the beginning of the year,' he added. 'That's causing tightening in a lot of markets, adding to costs and inflation.' The Labor Department reported Thursday that the producer price index (PPI)—a measure of wholesale inflation before it hits consumers—rose 0.9% from June to July, the biggest jump since 2021. Compared with a year earlier, wholesale prices were up 3.3%. A jump in the cost of services—about 1.1%—accounted for more than three-quarters of the increase in the PPI. This follows data earlier in the week showing the core consumer price index ticked up 0.2%. The White House pushed back on the idea that Trump's deportations are fueling inflation, framing the crackdown as part of an effort to tap 'untapped potential' in the domestic workforce. Spokesperson Abigail Jackson said more than one in 10 young Americans are neither working nor in school, and told Fortune the administration is 'focused on protecting the American workforce' and ensuring job gains go to native-born workers. Since Trump returned to office, she added, '100% of job gains have gone to native-born American workers.' However, Heritage Foundation economist Steve Moore, who recently paraded alternative jobs data next to Trump, told Fortune he is nonetheless 'worried about a labor shortage.''I think the deportations of working illegal immigrants could have a slight impact on wages and thus prices,' he said. Two camps, two very different diagnoses Zandi's remarks place him firmly on one side of a growing split among economists since a shock July jobs report showed very low job creation and steep downward revisions to prior months. His camp—which also includes Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Bank of America—argues hiring has slowed because the labor supply has been artificially constrained by Trump's deportations, border closures, and what Zandi calls 'self-deportations.' 'It's the southern border being shut down, it's deportations, it's self-deportations,' he said. 'Immigrants are scared. They're leaving the country, they're not coming in, they're not going to work.' He estimates the annual number of immigrants, legal and undocumented alike, has fallen from roughly 4 million at the 2023 peak to just 300,000–350,000 now.'That's a massive change,' Zandi said, and one he believes is 'significantly lifting the cost' in sectors that rely heavily on immigrant labor: construction, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, hospitality, retail, elder care, child care, and other personal services. Fresh and dry vegetable prices, for instance, surged almost 40% in the latest PPI. While tariffs and weather also factor in, Zandi says immigration restrictions are a major culprit. 'You can see it in meat prices, agriculture, food processing, haircuts, dry cleaning,' he said. 'The fingerprints of the restrictive immigration policy are all over the CPI and PPI numbers we got this week.' If Zandi's diagnosis is right, he says the Federal Reserve can hold rates steady without worrying about a cascade of layoffs because the weakness in hiring stems from fewer available workers, rather than collapsing demand. The other camp, however, sees a different story: a genuine slowdown in labor demand as businesses pull back amid economic uncertainty. They point to sectors like manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing, where payrolls have been shrinking for months, and to surveys showing declining job openings. In that scenario, Trump's policies may be a factor 'at the margins,' Zandi said, but the main driver is waning business confidence and softer consumer demand. Fed policy caught in the middle The distinction matters for monetary policy. A true drop in labor demand would usually ease wage pressures and inflation, giving the Fed room to cut rates. But the latest inflation data, where both hiring slowed and prices rose, muddies the picture. Zandi warned immigration-driven inflation is a supply-side shock — something interest-rate changes can't easily fix. 'Demand-side inflation has a different implication for monetary policy than supply-side inflation,' he said. 'Rate cuts won't bring more immigrants into the country.' He also argues the inflationary effects of immigration restrictions will be more persistent than those of tariffs. 'Tariffs are more likely to be one-off,' Zandi said. 'Restrictive immigration adds to shortages, higher labor costs and wages — and that can become self-reinforcing.' Economists at Bank of America echo the stagflation risk and say it's why they expect the Fed to avoid cutting rates this year. Markets so far have taken the latest data in stride, with the S&P 500 hovering near record highs on expectations of a September rate cut. But bond traders are starting to price in a slightly more hawkish Fed, pushing short-term Treasury yields a touch higher. The path forward Zandi believes easing immigration restrictions could quickly help bring inflation down. 'If we had a rational immigration policy where we allowed immigrants of all skills into the country, that would be a game changer,' he said, noting immigrants' outsized role in entrepreneurship and innovation. Whether the White House acknowledges the link between deportations and inflation, Zandi wouldn't speculate. 'Tariff inflation is not at the top of the list of reasons why they're pursuing the restrictive immigration policy,' he said. 'There are a lot of other motivations.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
