'Alligator Alcatraz' proposed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to house undocumented migrants

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV has reported this year on the overcrowded conditions at the Krome North Processing Center in Miami-Dade County, described by a nonprofit as "hellish," as federal authorities continue the deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Now, Florida's attorney general believes he has an idea that could help the state carry out President Donald Trump's "mass deportation agenda."

WATCH: AG says facility would house 1,000 people

In a Thursday afternoon post on X, Attorney General James Uthmeier called for the construction of a detention facility in the Everglades that he labeled "Alligator Alcatraz."

Uthmeier said the "virtually abandoned" Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, located in the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area, is 39 square miles with a 10,500-foot runway.

Uthmeier said Gov. Ron DeSantis tasked state leaders to identify places for new temporary detention facilities.

"I think this is the best one," Uthmeier said in the video.

Describing it as an "efficient" and "low-cost" opportunity, the attorney general stated that, due to its location surrounded by the Everglades, the state would not need to "invest that much in the perimeter."

"If people get out, there's not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons," according to Uthmeier. "Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide."

Uthmeier said "Alligator Alcatraz" could be up and running within 30 to 60 days after construction and house up to 1,000 people.

"This presents a great opportunity for the state of Florida to work with Miami-Dade and Collier counties," the attorney general said.

Uthmeier did not say how much it would cost to convert the old facility into a migrant detention facility.

Built in 1968, the site was originally called the Everglades JetPort, but it was never finished due to environmental concerns. Famed environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas started Friends of the Everglades in 1969, helping to successfully defeat the JetPort's completion.

The site, which has one runway, is owned by Miami-Dade County and used primarily as a pilot training facility, according to its website.

But some environmental groups are calling on Gov. DeSantis to shoot this proposal down.

Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, says it’s an awful idea — mainly because of where they want to build it.

WPTV

“It really strikes you as a clueless idea that was off the cuff,” said Samples. “This site is really important to Friends of the Everglades. It's actually the reason Friends of the Everglades was founded by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1969, to stop what would have been the world's largest airport from being built right there. It's really ironic that the state attorney general is characterizing this as a largely abandoned site. It was abandoned because the people of Florida, including Friends of the Everglades, rose up to stop it back in 1969, 1970."

She says for the same reasons why it didn’t work back then, it doesn't work now.

“Think about what could happen if we bring in a 1,000-bed prison, all the ancillary development you would need,” said Samples. “We call on the governor to put a stop to this proposal right now. It's a terribly bad idea, and it could totally undermine any Everglades credibility he has remaining.”