Trump and the head of internal security will inaugurate together the new detention center for migrants in Florid
Kristi Noem, along with Donald Trump Photo: Matt Rourke / Ap / Profimedia
US President Donald Trump is expected to participate on Tuesday in the opening of a temporary detention center for migrants built in the south of Florida and nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” (“Alcatraz with alligators”), said a source familiar with this topic, quoted by Reuters.
The measure comes in the context in which Republican Donald Trump has strongly intensified the campaign of the American authorities to restrain and expulsion migrants, saying that the measure is necessary after millions of people have illegally crossed the border under the previous administration of Democrat Joe Biden.
This detention center for migrants to be inaugurated in the American state Florida was nicknamed “Alcatrase with alligators” due to its isolated location in Everglades, a vast subtropical area populated by alligators, crocodiles and pythons, and a local official recently explained that it creates natural barriers to prevent security.
Trump will be accompanied by Kristi Noem, the US Secretary for Internal Security, who asked the president to visit this center, said the source quoted by Reuters, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Video US has started to build “Alcatrase with alligators” for illegal immigrants
The number of people in detention in the federal immigration centers increased, from 39,000 to the beginning of Trump's second term, to 56,000 until mid-June, according to US government data.
In view of the situation, the Trump administration has put pressure on finding additional spaces.
How many migrants wants the Trump administration to send to “Alcatrase with alligators”
The Florida Center, whose annual maintenance is estimated to cost up to $ 450 million, could eventually accommodate up to 5,000 people, according to the US Department for Internal Security (DHS).
James Uthmeier, the Attorney General of the State of Florida, said in a video recorded this month on social networks that this detention center could initially accommodate up to 1,000 people, within 30-60 days.
According to budgetary reports, ICE (the Agency for Immigration and Customs of the United States) pays on average $ 165 per day for a bed in a detention center. However, the estimates for the Florida Center are $ 247 a day for a person, if it will eventually reach a capacity of 5,000 beds.
DHS has announced that it has allocated funds from the Federal Agency for Emergency Agency (FEMA) to cover a “most” of the costs of the detention center.
These shelter funds, normally used in case of major disasters, were used by the Biden administration to reimburse New York and other localities the expenses related to the accommodation of recently arriving migrants.
