Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing back against environmental concerns related to building an immigrant detention center in the Everglades.
During a press conference where he signed a mental health bill in Tampa, the governor took time to address the "Alligator Alcatraz" plan to turn the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into a detention center to house suspected undocumented immigrants.
"We had a request from the federal government to do it, and so Alligator Alcatraz it is. And so you will see that be done," DeSantis said.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wants the location to have 5,000 beds by early July. It's a plan that has been condemned and protested by environmentalists and other advocates.
ALSO READ: Miami-Dade mayor expresses 'significant concerns' about scope, scale of 'Alligator Alcatraz' project
According to WLRN, groups have rebuked Florida for moving quickly without an environmental impact study or approval. There are concerns about potential impacts from waste runoff and construction.
The news organization also reported that Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said county officials have "significant concerns" about the scope and scale of the effort regarding environmental safeguards.
The state is in negotiations with the county to purchase the property. Levine Cava sent a letter to the Florida Division of Emergency Management to try to halt building the facility until more information was shared, but DeSantis' administration refused. The governor is using emergency powers to greenlight the state's use of the airstrip, according to WLRN.
Despite these concerns, DeSantis argues that there will be "zero environmental impacts." He also added that if the state buys the land, they've considered eventually eliminating the airport and letting the Everglades grow over it.
"You're talking about the guy that's plowed how much money into Everglades restoration?" DeSantis said. "Why would I want to do anything that would do [that]?"
Levine Cava has acknowledged that Florida and the federal government have invested billions, including $6.5 billion under DeSantis, for restoration. But she challenged any notions that the site would be self-contained, according to WLRN.
"We continue to have concerns about how a facility at this scale can operate without impacts to the surrounding ecosystem," she said.
ALSO READ: What to know about 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Florida migrant detention center in progress
The governor said the center is going to be temporary and consistent with what the state does when assisting during natural disasters like hurricanes. How long the center will be there is unknown at this time.
According to NPR, the setup will mostly involve heavy-duty tent" and trailer facilities. NPR also reported that Attorney General Uthmeier said the National Guard will be on site and that authorities would give immigrants "the due process that all the courts say they need on their way out."
NPR also reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said running the facility will cost Florida about $450 million for one year. The state can submit reimbursement requests to FEMA, where there's roughly $625 million in Shelter and Services Program funds to allocate for the project.
"We're not doing like permanent sewer and all; it's all temporary," DeSantis said. "We set it up. We break it down. This isn't the first rodeo. The thing's been used a bunch of times over many, many years, and so the impact will be zero, and that's in keeping with our policy to do really historic Everglades restoration."
He stated the center would relieve some burdens off state and local authorities required to participate in immigration enforcement. He added that the center will be a "force multiplier."
"We can't have every illegal housed in our jails because we actually have non-illegals who need to be housed there when they commit crimes, too," DeSantis said.
He also believes the site is beneficial from a security standpoint.
"If someone escapes, there's a lot of alligators you're going to have to contend — no one's going anywhere," DeSantis said.
ALSO READ: Rep. Maxwell Frost says he'll visit 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigrant detention facility
But lawmakers like Orlando Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost have expressed concern about living conditions at the site, according to WFSU.
"They want to make a mass tent detention facility in the middle of the Everglades, in the hot, burning Florida sun, in the swamp, and have these people living in damn tents. It's cruel. It's a tragedy. It's horrible, and we're gonna do everything we can to fight against it," he said.
A former DHS spokesperson under President Joe Biden, Alex Howard, told NPR the project is a "grotesque mix of cruelty and political theater."
Overall, Gov. DeSantis said he believes people who disagree with the plan are using concerns about the Everglades as a "pretext" for opposing immigration enforcement.
"You have a right to have that view, but that is not the policy of the United States of America. That is not the policy of the state of Florida," DeSantis said regarding opposing the immigration policies. "I think the capacity that will be added there will help the overall national mission."
The governor also mentioned there may be plans to do something similar to "Alligator Alcatraz" at Camp Blanding in Starke, which is a training center for Florida National Guard units. He added that the Florida Division of Emergency Management was working on the idea.
"It's important that we're leading the way on this," DeSantis said about immigration enforcement. "I think it's going to ultimately be the case that other states start to follow through a little bit more like Florida is."
