Deportations start at Alligator Alcatraz as Florida officials vow to "surge" immigration arrests

Source: cbs news




July 25, 2025 / 12:09 PM EDT /

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday announced deportation flights had begun to take off from the so-called Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention facility that his administration set up in the Everglades, saying "hundreds" of detainees held at the site had been processed for deportation.

DeSantis, a Republican who has sought to vocally highlight his state's efforts to aid the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, said several hundred individuals in line for deportation for alleged immigration offenses had been relocated from the Alligator Alcatraz site to other states or straight to their home countries.

"The whole purpose is to make this be a place that can facilitate increased frequency and numbers of deportations of illegal aliens," DeSantis said during a press conference at Alligator Alcatraz, noting the site has a runway that can accommodate deportation planes.


Florida state officials have overseen the construction of the Everglades facility and the detention of individuals there under a cooperation agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but the deportation process is still overseen by federal officials. During the same event Friday, Garrett Ripa, a top ICE official in Florida, confirmed "two or three" deportation flights had taken off from Alligator Alcatraz...............


Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alligator-alcatraz-deportations-desantis-florida-immigration-arrests/

Deportations start at #AlligatorAlcatraz as Florida officials vow to "surge" immigration arrests

www.cbsnews.com/news/alligat... via @CBSPolitics

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