President Donald Trump suggested that a new immigration detention center, located in a remote area of the Florida Everglades and surrounded by alligator-filled swamps, could serve as a model for future projects. This comes as his administration accelerates efforts to expand infrastructure aimed at increasing deportations.
The facility, which Trump toured Tuesday, has swiftly become a symbol of the president’s border crackdown. Migrants could start arriving there soon after his visit, which included walking through a medical facility featuring temporary cubicles as areas for treatment, News.Az reports citing AP news.
Assembled on a remote airstrip with tents and trailers that are normally used after a natural disaster, the detention center has been nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” a moniker that has alarmed immigrant activists but appeals to the Republican president’s aggressive approach to deportations.
“This is not a nice business,” Trump said while leaving the White House. Then he joked that “we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison.”
“Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this,” he said, as he moved his hand in a zigzag motion. “And you know what? Your chances go up about 1%.”
That doesn’t seem to be sound advice, though. It’s best to dash in one direction in the rare situation when an alligator gives chase, according to a website run by the University of Florida.
Ahead of Trump’s arrival, local authorities were positioned by the entrance of the airstrip. Media vans and other vehicles were parked along the highway lined by cypress trees.
