BOCA RATON, Fla. — Following the recent announcement that an airport located in the Everglades will become a 5,000-bed immigration detention center, there have been questions about the environmental impact on the wetland.
Called "Alligator Alcatraz" by state officials, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday during a stop in Boca Raton that the facility, located in Collier County, will have "zero impact" on the Everglades.
WATCH BELOW: Gov. DeSantis says 'Alligator Alcatraz' won't have environmental impact
"It gets all the process out of the hair of the people of Florida," DeSantis said. "You're not going to have to worry about this. It's remote. This is something that's already built. Now, there's different things that are being added to the airport, but there's no different footprint at all, so it has nothing to do in terms of Everglades impact or restoration."
DeSantis said the Everglades site will help to alleviate any overcrowding at other sites like county jails used for "actual U.S. citizen criminals."
The governor pinned some of the pushback on the plan because some critics "just don't want Florida assisting with the deportations."
He also reiterated that another "staging facility for processing" will be created at Camp Blanding near Jacksonville for undocumented immigrants, which the governor first announced Wednesday.
DeSantis said both "Alligator Alcatraz" and Camp Blanding will be used for the federal government to "process folks" before they are deported.
"It helps fulfill President (Donald) Trump's mission," DeSantis said.
The governor said that the state has been considering purchasing the airport site, which is owned by Miami-Dade County, prior to the announcement of the "Alligator Alcatraz" plan by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier last week.
"We would look at potentially disbanding the facility, but that facility has been there for a long time," DeSantis said.
Like previous comments by Uthmeier, DeSantis said the remoteness of the "Alligator Alcatraz" plan was attractive since the location is as "secure as it gets."
He said the money used by the state for the project will be reimbursable by the federal government.
WTVJ, the NBC affiliate in Miami, reported that the estimated cost to operate "Alligator Alcatraz" is about $450 million annually.
