The first group of detainees arrived at “Alligator Alcatraz” on Thursday.
According to The Palm Beach Post, video footage showed a “white shuttle-type bus” pulling up to the facility.
Benny Johnson shared an image:
A spokesperson for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed the arrivals with the Associated Press.
“The first group has arrived at Alligator Alcatraz. Stood up in record time under @GovRonDeSantis’ leadership & in coordination with @DHSgov & @ICEgov, Florida is proud to help facilitate @realDonaldTrump’s mission to enforce immigration law,” the Florida Division of Emergency Management wrote on X.
More from the Associated Press:
The facility, at an airport used for training, will have an initial capacity of about 3,000 detainees, DeSantis said. The center was built in eight days and features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire and 400 security personnel.
Immigrants who are arrested by Florida law enforcement officers under the federal government’s 287(g) program will be taken to the facility, according to an official in President Donald Trump’s administration. The program is led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and allows police officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation.
The facility is expected to be expanded in 500 bed increments until it has an estimated 5,000 beds by early July.
A group of Florida Democratic state lawmakers headed to the facility Thursday to conduct “an official legislative site visit,” citing concerns about conditions for detainees and the awarding of millions of dollars in state contracts for the construction.
Libs of TikTok shared footage of Democrat lawmakers attempting to gain access to the facility.
Check it out:
Fox News noted:
Additional coverage below:
