The Washington Examiner’s Anna Giaritelli paid a visit to Alligator Alcatraz and discovered that the detention facility lives up to its name when she was greeted by a gator that appeared to be “guarding” the facility, which she noted was just a few feet away from the road.
For background, on June 30, 2025, Anna Giaritelli, a reporter for the Washington Examiner, visited the newest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” and nervously captured footage of a massive alligator just feet away from the road outside of the facility.
Posting on X after her visit to the facility, Giaritelli said, “There really are alligators out here” and shared a video of a gnarly-looking gator lurking beside a bridge. In a subsequent post, she added that she was at “Alligator Alcatraz” “ahead of Trump’s visit Tuesday to ICE’s newest immigrant detention facility.”
Furthermore, as Giaritelli mentioned, President Trump visited the facility just a day later on July 1, 2025, alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. On his way in, the president reportedly joked, “We’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison.”
Moreover, the president told the press that he was impressed by the ICE detention facility, describing it as “so professional and well done,” per CBS News. When asked by reporters if “Alligator Alcatraz” would serve as a blueprint for future ICE detention centers, he said, “It can be.”
Continuing, President Trump told the press that he felt that “Alligator Alcatraz” might be a rarity because of its geography, saying, “I mean, you don’t always have land so beautiful and so secure. They have a lot of bodyguards and a lot of cops that are in the form of alligators.” He added, “You don’t have to pay them so much, but I wouldn’t want to run through the Everglades for long.”
Additionally, the president expressed optimism about the impact that the new detention center would have on his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, saying, ” It will keep people where they’re supposed to be. This is a very important thing.” He also clarified that in the future, the model “might morph into a system” used for other detention centers.
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Furthermore, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt provided reporters with more information about the facility during a July 1 briefing, saying, “There’s only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way flight.” She added, “It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain. The facility will have up to 5,000 beds to house, process, and deport criminal illegal aliens.”
Watch the clip of the gator:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video