Overview

• The facility officially began operations under federal and state control following President Trump’s July 1 visit.
• Built in just eight days on the Dade-Collier airfield, the camp leverages surrounding alligators, pythons and remote swamp terrain as natural deterrents.
• Authorities project the center will cost approximately $450 million annually, funded largely through FEMA emergency programs.
• ICE is finalizing preparations to transfer up to 5,000 detainees labeled as "criminal aliens" into the camp’s tents and container structures.
• The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Everglades have filed lawsuits to block the project over ecological and human-rights concerns.