As Florida prepares to open a new immigrant detention center deep in the Everglades, the state’s Republican Party is capitalizing on the moment with a new line of merchandise, branded with the nickname “Alligator Alcatraz.”
T-shirts, hats, and can koozies featuring the gator-themed branding are now available in the Florida GOP’s online store. The merch rollout comes just a day before the facility’s official July 1 launch, announced in a party fundraising message, obtained by Scripps reporter Forrest Saunders.
Florida’s new migrant detention facility, “Alligator Alcatraz,” now has @FloridaGOP swag. @GovRonDeSantis showed the remote Everglades site to @SteveDoocy this morning, saying it’ll host its first detainees by Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/A4NYrkJVUF
— Forrest Saunders (@FBSaunders) June 27, 2025
“The feds have greenlit Alligator Alcatraz, Florida’s gator-guarded, python-patrolled prison for illegal aliens who thought they could game the system,” the email reads.
“Surrounded by miles of swamp and bloodthirsty wildlife, this ain’t no vacation spot. It’s a one-way ticket to regret for criminals who’ll wish they’d self-deported.”
The 5,000-bed detention center, located on a former airport site in Miami–Dade County, was fast-tracked by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) under an emergency order.
The facility intends to relieve overcrowding in local jails and support President Donald Trump and his administration’s mass deportation initiative. It is nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” for its remote, swampy location and surrounding wildlife, including alligators and pythons.
Trump is set to visit the site Tuesday for its grand opening alongside DeSantis, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and other state leaders.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the center “an efficient and low-cost way to help carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history.”
“When you have illegal murderers and rapists and heinous criminals in a detention center surrounded by alligators, yes I do think that’s a deterrent for them to try to escape,” Leavitt said on Monday.
“There is only one road leading in,” she added. “The only way out is a one-way flight.”
Leavitt on DeSantis’s new “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant camp that Trump will tour tomorrow: “The only way out is a one-way flight. It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife … This is an efficient and low cost way to help carry out the largest mass deportation campaign… pic.twitter.com/INFioVcLS5
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 30, 2025
The detention center is being built with partial funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and operated in coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to DeSantis, the isolated location, with only one road in and dense Everglades swamp on all sides, makes it nearly escape-proof.
“This is as secure as it gets,” the Florida governor said. “If a criminal alien were to escape from here somehow, and I don’t think they will, you’ve got nowhere to go… What are you going to do? Dodge alligators?”
Gov Ron DeSantis Goes Inside Alligator Alcatraz
“This is as secure as it gets. If a criminal aiien were to escape from here somehow and I don’t think they will, you’ve got no where to go.” pic.twitter.com/FKI0C1iX8S
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) June 27, 2025
ZOHRAN MAMDANI TOOK MONEY FROM GROUPS THAT HELP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AVOID DEPORTATION
Despite the support from state and federal Republican leaders, the project has drawn sharp backlash from Democrats, immigration advocates, and environmental groups. Dozens of protesters lined Highway 41 over the weekend holding signs that read, “No Alligator Alcatraz,” and “Abuse People, Abuse the Everglades.”
“Alligator Alcatraz” will begin holding detainees on July 1, and operations are expected to ramp up quickly under the oversight of ICE and the Florida Division of Emergency Management.