DADE COUNTY, FL — Florida has broken ground on a highly controversial migrant detention center in the heart of the Everglades, drawing immediate criticism from environmental groups, Indigenous leaders, and immigration rights advocates. The remote facility, informally dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” will house up to 5,000 detainees, according to officials.

Construction crews have already arrived at the Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport site, bringing in portable restrooms, trailers, and tents. The isolated location, surrounded by swamp, snakes, and alligators, has become the focus of national attention.

Attorney General James Uthmeier, leading the project under emergency authority, described the site’s isolation as a built-in security feature. “If people get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons,” he said.

Funded by FEMA under the federal Shelter and Services Program, the center is expected to cost $450 million annually to operate. The Department of Homeland Security has fast-tracked federal approvals.

But opposition is escalating. On June 22, nearly 1,000 people, including tribal leaders, protested the development at the site, holding a prayer gathering and calling for its cancellation.

Miami-Dade County, which owns the land, has rejected the state’s $20 million offer to purchase it, stating the property is worth nearly 10 times that. County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is calling for a comprehensive environmental impact study. She warned the project endangers endangered species, threatens drinking water supplies, and violates Indigenous rights.

“This is not just about a detention center,” Levine Cava said. “It’s about respecting our communities, our environment, and our constitutional values.”

Advocates say the facility’s remote location will cut detainees off from legal representation and place them in unsafe and inhumane conditions.

“This is the wrong project in the worst place,” said one immigration attorney present at the protest. “People will be detained in an area surrounded by dangerous wildlife, with limited access to basic legal and medical services.”

Despite the outcry, officials plan to open the facility by early July with an initial 1,000 beds ready for use.

The construction of what critics are calling “Alligator Alcatraz” highlights a growing national debate around immigration enforcement, detention practices, and the use of emergency powers.

Supporters of the facility argue it is a necessary response to what they describe as an overwhelmed system. But opponents see it as a moral and logistical disaster — a massive facility being hastily constructed on ecologically sensitive land without due process or proper safeguards.

Indigenous groups argue the project desecrates tribal lands and disregards long-standing treaty rights and historical stewardship of the Everglades.

Environmentalists are warning of irreversible consequences to fragile ecosystems that include endangered species like the Florida panther and snail kite.

Legal experts have also questioned the ethics and legality of isolating detainees in such a harsh, inaccessible environment.

The state has not announced whether public hearings will be held or whether detainees will have access to legal counsel on-site.

With construction already underway and operations slated to begin within weeks, opposition groups are exploring legal action to halt the project, setting up a potential courtroom battle over land use, environmental regulation, and civil liberties.

Originally reported by Rob Garguilo in WJNO.