As the opening of Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is imminent, other states with Republican leadership have been in touch with the White House about opening similar facilities, according to a new report.
Last week, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina tweeted a desperate plea to the Department of Homeland Security for an ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in her state.
“Dear DHS: We’ve got a swamp and a dream. Let’s talk. South Carolina’s gators are ready. And they’re not big on paperwork. If I was Governor, we’d be bringing Alligator Alcatraz to South Carolina,” she wrote.
In the wake of that message, a Fox News survey found that a handful of the 26 states with Republican governors have plans for a similar migrant prison camp in their states.
Representatives for the governor’s offices in Georgia and Arkansas confirmed that construction is underway on facilities that can hold thousands of migrants.
A spokesman for South Carolina’s Governor Henry McMaster said that the administration is “exploring how the Palmetto State’s unique assets and resources can be utilized to provide additional and enhanced support in the weeks and months to come.”
Other states responded positively to Florida’s efforts and the Trump administration’s controversial policies involving the detention of migrants, but did not specify plans for their own “Alligator Alcatraz.”
On Tuesday, the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, called on other states to follow Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ lead and to build similar prisons in their states during an appearance on Laura Ingraham’s show.
“We want to go to every Republican state – now, of course, in a sane country, Democrats would do it, too, but they love the illegals and they hate the Americans. We want every governor of a red state, and if you are watching tonight: pick up the phone, call DHS, work with us to build facilities in your state so we can get the illegals out and we can get the criminals out,” Miller said.
The first detainees arrived Thursday at the facility, which will cost $450 million to operate and consists of tents and trailers surrounded by razor wire on swampland about 45 miles west of downtown Miami.
Republicans named it after what was once one of the most notorious prisons in the U.S. and have billed it as a temporary lockup that is essential to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Opponents decry it as a political stunt and fear it could become a permanent fixture. The Republican Party of Florida has taken to fundraising off the detention center, selling branded T-shirts and beer koozies emblazoned with the facility’s name.
“The proposal was rolled out without any public input in one of the most ecologically sensitive regions of Florida, and arguably the United States,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, which is among environmental groups that have sued to stop the project.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
