The first group of detainees arrived at “Alligator Alcatraz” on Thursday. According to The Palm Beach Post, video footage showed a “white shuttle-type bus” pulling up to the facility. Benny Johnson shared an image: The first batch of criminal aliens has arrived at Alligator Alcatraz. Into my veins. pic.twitter.com/gNXqqZ6Rzp — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 3, 2025 A spokesperson for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed the arrivals with the Associated Press. “The first group has arrived at Alligator Alcatraz. Stood up in record time under @GovRonDeSantis’ leadership & in coordination with @DHSgov & @ICEgov, Florida is proud to help facilitate @realDonaldTrump’s mission to enforce immigration law,” the Florida Division of Emergency Management wrote on X. The first group has arrived at Alligator Alcatraz. Stood up in record time under @GovRonDeSantis’ leadership & in coordination with @DHSgov & @ICEgov,Florida is proud to help facilitate @realDonaldTrump's mission to enforce immigration law. pic.twitter.com/RoCyt5RuX6 — FL Division of Emergency Management (@FLSERT) July 3, 2025 More from the Associated Press: The facility, at an airport used for training, will have an initial capacity of about 3,000 detainees, DeSantis said. The center was built in eight days and features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire and 400 security personnel. Immigrants who are arrested by Florida law enforcement officers under the federal government’s 287(g) program will be taken to the facility, according to an official in President Donald Trump’s administration. The program is led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and allows police officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. The facility is expected to be expanded in 500 bed increments until it has an estimated 5,000 beds by early July. A group of Florida Democratic state lawmakers headed to the facility Thursday to conduct “an official legislative site visit,” citing concerns about conditions for detainees and the awarding of millions of dollars in state contracts for the construction. Libs of TikTok shared footage of Democrat lawmakers attempting to gain access to the facility. Check it out: Democrats showed up demanding access to Alligator Alcatraz and were denied entry Imagine if they cared this much about homeless veterans or hurricane victims pic.twitter.com/LXWWStf7jc — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 3, 2025 Fox News noted: Multiple Democratic lawmakers will visit “Alligator Alcatraz,” a new illegal immigrant detention center being constructed near the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, on Thursday. The “official legislative site visit” is in response to what officials claim is “a series of deeply troubling developments at the state-run immigrant detention facility,” according to a news release. Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones and Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith will be joined by state representatives Anna Eskamani, Angie Nixon and Michele Rayner. “On the eve of America’s Independence Day, these Democrat politicians are choosing to defend criminal illegal aliens over American citizens,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “They should stop staging political stunts for 15 minutes of fame and start working with President Trump and Secretary Noem to keep Americans safe. If these lawmakers want a tour of Alligator Alcatraz, they will need to reach out to the Florida Department of State.” The visit comes days after President Donald Trump toured the state site alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Additional coverage below: