weeks, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Friday.

The first flights, operated by the Department of Homeland Security, have already transferred about 100 detainees from the facility to other countries, DeSantis said during a press conference near the site. “You’re going to see the numbers go up dramatically,” he added. Officials confirmed that two or three flights have already departed but did not disclose their destinations.

Critics have condemned the South Florida facility as cruel and inhumane. DeSantis and other Republican officials, however, have defended it as part of the state’s effort to support President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. They said the decision to build the center deep in the Everglades — and to nickname it after a notorious federal prison — was intended as a deterrent.

The White House has highlighted the site’s remoteness — about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Miami — and its inhospitable environment, teeming with pythons and alligators. Officials have suggested that these conditions send a clear warning that violating U.S. immigration laws will carry severe consequences.

Trump has even floated the idea of reopening Alcatraz, the infamous island prison in San Francisco Bay, as part of broader immigration enforcement measures. Additionally, the White House has transferred some immigrants awaiting deportation to the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and others to a megaprison in El Salvador. (Jamaica Gleaner)