(The Hill) — President Donald Trump was in Florida on Tuesday attending the grand opening of a new migrant detention facility in a remote part of the swampy Everglades, which has stirred some controversy.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) had promised to have the facility, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” operational ahead of Trump’s visit. The president was joined by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The migrant center, nestled near the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, includes soft-sided holding units for hundreds of detainees through a partnership in which the federal government will provide the funding. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has overseen its build-out and management. It will house detainees from the Sunshine State and transfers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Trump’s visit also included a walking tour of the site near Ochopee, Florida.
Earlier Tuesday, before he left the White House for Florida, Trump advised would-be escapees from the new detention facility to zigzag when trying to evade reptilian predators lurking in the Everglades.
“Don’t run in a straight line; run like this,” the president said to reporters, waving his hand from side to side.
“You know what, your chances go up by 1 percent. Not a good thing,” he added.
In a video first coining the site “Alligator Alcatraz,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R), who joined Trump for Tuesday’s tour, highlighted its remote location as a bonus.
“People get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons — nowhere to go, nowhere to hide,” he said in a video shared on social platform X last month.
Trump similarly remarked about the far-flung destination during a public event during his trip there.
“It’s known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ which is very appropriate, because I looked outside and it’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon,” he said. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is, really, deportation.”
Wildlife experts mostly dismiss the zigzagging advice when encountering a gator, though.
“A prevalent myth suggests that alligators can outrun humans over short distances or that zigzagging can confuse them,” Field & Stream magazine noted in a survival guide published in 2023. “However, the reality is that running in a straight line away from the threat is your safest bet.”
“An alligator’s primary advantage is not its speed on land but its agility and prowess in the water,” the article added.
Read: Read More