Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is advancing a controversial expansion of state-run migrant detention centers modeled after the newly built “Alligator Alcatraz” site in the Florida Everglades. In an interview with CBS News, Noem confirmed that her department is actively exploring similar facilities in Arizona, Nebraska, and Louisiana—with the goal of dramatically increasing capacity to detain and deport unauthorized immigrants.
The Florida facility, established in just eight days at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, houses up to 3,000 detainees and is surrounded by 39 square miles of swampland. The remote and inhospitable location, Noem admitted, was chosen with deterrence in mind. President Trump visited the site last month and called it a model for the rest of the country.
The Biden-era preference for contracts with local jails and private prison companies is being upended by Noem’s approach, which emphasizes quick construction, proximity to runways for faster deportations, and centralized control under DHS. She has also implemented a department-wide policy requiring her personal approval of every contract over $100,000 and is capping detention agreements at five years or less.
The Alligator Alcatraz facility costs an estimated $245 per detainee per day—significantly more than the $165 national average—yet Noem argues the proximity to airport runways will ultimately save money by enabling “quick turnarounds.” A new $45 billion funding pool from Congress, signed into law under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” will support the expansion.
Unfortunately for Noem, the legality of the facility is being challenged. Attorneys are arguing in federal court that Florida, as state, doesn’t have the right to detain migrants without first making a formal agreement with ICE. A judge recently ordered DHS and Florida officials to produce documentation clarifying which agency is legally responsible for the detainees’ custody.
Kevin Landy, who served in ICE under President Obama, warned that states operating detention centers without federal oversight may be violating legal norms around due process.
Reports of poor conditions at Alligator Alcatraz have further fueled scrutiny. Human rights activists are concerned that ICE detainees are not being treated humanely. There have been allegations of food riddled with maggots and a lack of access to legal representation. Authorities in Florida deny these allegations.
Despite the backlash, Noem views the Florida model as both politically effective and operationally efficient. She says conversations with foreign leaders suggest that visible enforcement—like isolated detention sites—can prompt voluntary repatriation. According to Noem, both Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa cited the U.S. government’s toughened stance as a factor driving undocumented citizens back home.
