The Trump administration has stirred controversy after posting a bizarre AI-generated image depicting alligators as guards at an immigration detention facility.
The image, shared on the official Homeland Security X (formerly Twitter) account, shows four alligators lined up wearing ICE hats, alongside the caption: “Coming soon!”
The post appears to promote a controversial new immigration detention center planned for Florida, already nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The proposed facility is projected to cost $450 million annually and would house up to 1,000 migrants on a remote 39-square-mile section of the Everglades.
The area, known for its treacherous terrain and abundant wildlife, is surrounded by thousands of invasive pythons and an estimated 200,000 alligators.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a vocal supporter of the project, emphasized that the surrounding wildlife would act as a natural deterrent, describing the camp as “virtually escape-proof.”
“If you get out, there’s not much waiting for you except alligators and pythons,” Uthmeier posted on X.
The project has drawn fierce backlash from immigration advocates and environmentalists alike.
“This is not a joke – this is state-sponsored intimidation,” one critic wrote on X. “We are treating human beings like prey.”
Environmental groups are also raising red flags over the potential damage to the Everglades’ delicate ecosystem. Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, told CBS News: “The site is over 96 percent wetlands, surrounded by a national preserve, with incredible biodiversity. This plan is not only cruel—it’s an environmental disaster waiting to happen.”
