DHS to use ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ as model for more detention centers

A remote migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades could serve as a model for similar facilities nationwide. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said the site, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” may shape how other states handle detention, with future centers possibly located near jails or airports.

Alligator Alcatraz sets new standard for detention facilities

In an interview with CBS News, Noem said the agency is already looking at possible sites for new detention centers, including in Nebraska, Louisiana and Arizona. DHS has been in contact with governors and state officials to determine their interest in supporting President Donald Trump’s expanded deportation plans.

Noem indicated that “most of them are interested,” and “many of them have facilities that may be empty or underutilized.”

The proposed facilities would follow the model of a newly opened 3,000-bed immigration detention center in southern Florida. Built in just over a week, the site is projected to cost roughly $450 million to operate in its first year. It’s located next to an airport and surrounded by swampland, with alligators in the area.

Noem said the new model is cheaper per bed than many current Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracts with private facilities and allows for faster processing. She argued that locating facilities near airports helps reduce time in detention and lowers overall costs.

Federal funding fuels expansion

The plan would tap into a new $165 billion federal fund signed into law last month to expand ICE’s detention network. That funding is expected to nearly double the agency’s current capacity.

Legal challenges have followed Alligator Alcatraz and its opening. The ACLU of Florida filed a lawsuit on July 16 against the Trump administration, claiming people held at the new immigration facility in the Everglades are being denied access to legal counsel and due process. The suit describes unsafe and isolated conditions at the temporary site, where roughly 700 detainees are housed in tents and trailers on an old airstrip surrounded by wildlife.

A federal judge recently ordered DHS and state officials to clarify the legal framework behind the center.

Environmental groups filed the first lawsuit last month to stop construction of the detention center, arguing that officials failed to follow environmental laws.

Critics have also questioned whether states can legally operate immigration detention centers without federal contracts. Former ICE officials have raised concerns about detaining individuals outside of formal ICE oversight.

Deterrence as policy: the message to migrants

Despite the pushback, Noem said the policy is meant to send a message: unauthorized migrants, especially those with criminal records, will face consequences.

“They see the laws being enforced in the United States,” Noem told CBS News. “They know when they are here illegally and if they are detained, they’ll be removed. They see that they may never get the chance to come back to America. And they’re voluntarily coming home.”

She believes the approach is already having an impact, citing conversations with foreign leaders who say thousands of their citizens have voluntarily returned home.

Noem said Mexico’s president estimated that between 500,000 and 600,000 citizens have returned to Mexico on their own since President Donald Trump took office, in part, out of concern they could lose future opportunities to legally enter the U.S.

Nebraska officials confirmed ongoing talks with federal partners but say plans are still developing. Arizona officials said they have not been approached.