At a time when the US Senate was debating the fate of his major legislative program, President Donald Trump traveled thousands of miles from Washington last night to visit the makeshift migrant detention center that was created on an old runway in the Florida swamps, writes the “New York Times“.
Republicans have already started calling the facility “Alligator Alcatraz“ because of the fact that it is surrounded by miles of swampland that is densely populated with the predatory reptiles, the publication notes.
The visit may have seemed a bit unusual, since the real event was taking place in Washington, where Republican senators were trying to decide whether they could really support Trump's controversial bill, the newspaper commented. The visit to the detention center, however, was not without purpose: This media show was organized to draw attention to Trump's strongest policy, which gives him support among Republicans more than anything else - immigration, the „New York Times“ points out.
The visit and the administration's rhetoric surrounding it seemed to be aimed at emphasizing Trump's hardline approach to immigration and his goal of more mass deportations, the „Washington Post“ writes.
The publication cites numerous sociological surveys, according to which Americans in general show increasing disapproval of Trump's immigration policy, but this issue is increasingly mobilizing Trump supporters.
The new detention center in Florida is at the center of the immigration debate, the newspaper commented. Immigrant rights groups have expressed concerns about conditions at the facility, environmental groups warn about the potential harm to wildlife, and a local Indian tribe opposed the site where the facility was built, the American metropolitan publication points out.
The decision to build the “Alligator Alcatraz“ despite these protests is indicative of the Republicans' unwillingness to back down from Trump's main election promise - to guarantee border security, writes the British newspaper “Telegraph“.
The authorities in Florida managed to build the 5,000-bed facility in less than a week after Governor Ron DeSantis used emergency powers to speed up the process, the publication notes.
The detention center, which is expected to cost $450 million a year when fully operational, represents DeSantis' most serious initiative to establish Florida's reputation as the state that works hardest to enforce the hardline Trump's immigration policy, commented „Telegraph“.
Desantis rejected criticism of the conditions at the facility, saying that the detention center is necessary but temporary, and that people sent there will be taken care of, writes „The Guardian“.
Critics claim that the detention center puts too much environmental pressure on sensitive wetlands and that people detained there will be subjected to cruel and degrading treatment, but Trump made no effort to dispute this thesis, the publication points out. On the contrary, while answering questions from reporters, he jokingly made zigzag movements with his hand and advised anyone thinking of trying to escape the detention center not to run from alligators in a straight line, writes „The Guardian“.