Donald Trump came into office promising the largest mass deportation in US history, targeting more than ten million illegal immigrants living in the country. Since then, data shows border crossings have plummeted, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests have doubled, and the number of people in detention is at an all-time high.
The US President reiterated his tough crackdown on illegal immigration on Tuesday, as he toured a new detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida – which has a capacity to hold around 3,000. Trump said it will soon hold the most “menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet”.
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During his visit, Trump added: “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is, really, deportation.” There are also plans to build another detention facility with space for 2,000 people near Jacksonville.
Trump said the Florida facility could act as a model for other detention centres, adding his administration was actively searching for more locations.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters: “They can have their hearings, to get due process and then immediately be flown back home to their home countries.”
She and the US President said they believed the facility would encourage undocumented migrants to self-deport.
