President Donald Trump is expected to visit Florida on Tuesday for the grand opening of a controversial immigration detention center in the heart of the Everglades, as lawsuits and protests mount against the project.

Nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” the center sits on a remote airstrip inside Miami-Dade County. The facility is designed to hold up to 5,000 undocumented migrants detained in immigration raids. The opening comes as the Biden-era immigration rules have been replaced by Trump’s stricter policies following his return to office.

Trump’s visit signals his strong support for the project, which has become a key symbol of his immigration crackdown during his second term. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Attorney General James Uthmeier led the effort to build the center, using emergency powers issued in 2023 to bypass land and environmental protections.

But the project is facing major legal and public backlash. Environmental groups Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County.

“The site is more than 96 percent wetlands, surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve, and is home to endangered species like the Florida panther,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “This reckless plan threatens the Everglades and ignores laws meant to protect it.”

The lawsuit claims the government skipped legally required environmental reviews and failed to give the public a chance to comment. Lawyers argue the facility could cause pollution, traffic hazards, and harm to wildlife.

“This massive detention center will damage one of the most important ecosystems in the world,” said Elise Bennett, director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It risks destroying water systems and killing endangered wildlife.”

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered near the Dade-Collier airstrip, chanting against the detention center and Trump’s immigration policies.

Despite the backlash, the facility has been approved by the Department of Homeland Security, which says it may reimburse Florida for some of the $450 million annual cost. State officials argue the center is needed to handle the growing number of undocumented migrants under Trump’s stricter immigration orders.

Trump’s visit is expected to include a private tour of the facility with DeSantis and Uthmeier, followed by a speech to supporters.

The fight over “Alligator Alcatraz” has become a flashpoint in Florida, drawing national attention and intensifying the debate over immigration, environmental protection, and states’ rights under the Trump administration.

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