Opening Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz' gives DeSantis a chance to boost his ties to Trump
Trump and DeSantis are expected to tour the compound – nicknamed 'Alligator Alcatraz' – built on a remote airstrip surrounded by swamp and predators. In the latest display of his support for a signature Trump priority, DeSantis used emergency powers to seize the land and fast-track construction with encouragement from the Trump administration.
While a White House official described the Trump-DeSantis relationship as 'fine,' DeSantis has faced a strained dynamic ever since he ran for the 2024 Republican nomination, crossing Trump, who believed he was responsible for the governor's rise.
The White House for months has moved in ways that effectively isolated DeSantis in his own state, working behind the scenes with Florida lawmakers who refused the governor's demands on immigration. And Trump has elevated other Florida Republicans, inviting them to events in Washington that the governor did not attend.
Also expected to attend Tuesday's event: Rep. Byron Donalds, Trump's favored pick to replace the term-limited DeSantis as governor, a not-so-subtle reminder of shifting Republican loyalties in their shared home state. DeSantis, meanwhile, has publicly suggested that his wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, would be a worthwhile successor.
The couple have quietly urged the president to scale back his involvement in the race. Trump has since made several high-profile appearances with Donalds.
No state moved more aggressively to align itself with Trump's immigration crackdown than Florida.
Under a new law signed by DeSantis, local police agencies must cooperate with federal immigration officials – a policy shift that has helped Florida account for nearly 40% of the 737 agreements ICE has signed with local law enforcement departments since Trump took office, according to agency data. Earlier this year, DeSantis' office and ICE announced the arrest of 1,120 undocumented immigrants over a week in what Florida called a 'first-of-its-kind' statewide operation.
During a visit with Fox News on Friday, DeSantis described the new Everglades facility as a 'one-stop shop' for detaining, processing and deporting undocumented migrants. When completed, it will hold up to 5,000 beds.
'This is going to be a force multiplier,' DeSantis said, 'and we're happy to work with the federal government to satisfy President Trump's mandate.'
Trump's border czar Tom Homan offered DeSantis some praise for his efforts ahead of the visit.
'I mean, Gov. DeSantis, I'll give him credit. We got that facility that he's putting up in Florida. We'll be filling those beds as quick as we can, because we need more beds,' Homan told reporters at the White House.
But DeSantis had sought to go further. His office drafted legislation granting him unprecedented authority to deport migrants using state resources, a power traditionally reserved for the federal government.
In a rare rejection of the governor's ambitions by Florida's Republican-led legislature, lawmakers declined to cede that power to DeSantis. Instead, they passed their own immigration package – one that notably excluded the deportation provision and was crafted in consultation with the White House, according to House Speaker Daniel Perez.
'We were talking to the White House the entire time,' Perez told CNN on Monday. 'The product that we finalized was the result of input from the House, the Senate, the governor and the White House. Our goal was to best assist the federal government in doing their job. They needed beds. And that's what this bill addressed.'
Perez declined to say whom he worked with in the Trump administration. The White House declined to comment.
Perez was seen alongside Trump on multiple occasions this year. He attended the White House Easter Egg Roll and later celebrated the Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup victory with the president. DeSantis did not attend either event.
As the Republican primary intensified, DeSantis increasingly criticized Trump's first-term immigration record, accusing him of failing to deliver on his central promise to build a border wall and force Mexico pay for it.
'If Trump had built the border wall, it would have been very difficult for (President Joe) Biden to bring in all those many people,' DeSantis said during a CNN town hall ahead of the Iowa caucuses. 'That's why you want a wall. It's a physical fact of life, that even an open-border president would not be able to get around, so I will get the job done.'
After Trump defeated DeSantis, the two did not talk for months. Many in Trump's orbit harbor ill feelings toward DeSantis, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who once worked for the governor before a bitter falling out.
Lately, Trump and DeSantis have maintained a friendly public rapport. They have golfed together and DeSantis has vocally defended Trump during public appearances, reprising the role that first endeared him to the president during his time in Congress.
Trump has taken a personal interest in the detention facility that DeSantis has moved rapidly to build, the White House official said. The US Department of Homeland Security has approved the plan to temporarily repurpose the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport for use as a detention center. Another site at the Camp Blanding National Guard training center in northeast Florida is also under consideration, DeSantis spokeswoman Molly Best said in a statement to CNN.
The airstrip sits in the middle of the Florida Everglades, an ecosystem dense with alligators, pythons, panthers and marshes that are notoriously difficult to navigate. Its surroundings have captured the immigration of many Republicans, including inside the Trump administration. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested the location will serve as a natural deterrent for people trying to escape. DHS posted an image to social media over the weekend of alligators wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement hats standing guard outside a prison.
'Coming soon!' a caption said.
DeSantis floated the idea of a Trump visit when talking with Fox News on Friday, gesturing toward a runway.
'An invitation from me: We can land Air Force One right there no problem,' he said. 'I think the president would be impressed with what the guys are doing out here.'
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