The facility sits some 37 miles (60 km) from Miami in a vast subtropical wetland teeming with alligators, crocodiles and pythons.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would like to see facilities like the new so-called "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention center in Florida 's Everglades in other states. "Well, I think would like to see them in many states. Really, many states," the president said. "And, you know, at some point, they might morph into a system."