Overview

• Attorney General James Uthmeier pitched converting the 39-square-mile Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into a detention facility that could be ready within 30 to 60 days of construction.
• The remote Everglades location is promoted as a natural deterrent to escape, leveraging surrounding alligator and python habitats to reduce perimeter costs.
• The plan aligns with President Trump’s directive for 3,000 daily immigration arrests as ICE facilities currently hold about 53,000 detainees beyond funded capacity.
• Uthmeier was held in civil contempt for defying a federal judge’s order on Florida’s new immigration enforcement law.
• Final state and federal approvals are still pending, with backers arguing the site’s existing runway would speed up processing and deportation flights.