Kristi Noem: Illegal Aliens Can Avoid Detainment at Facilities Such as ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ if They Self-Deport

Illegal aliens residing in the U.S. do not have to go through detainment at areas like “Alligator Alcatraz” if they self-deport, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made clear on Tuesday while touring the facility.

Officials quickly transformed the existing Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility in the Florida Everglades into a detention center designed to house, process, and deport criminal illegal aliens. According to a chart provided by officials, the facility will hold up to 3,000 illegal migrants and will be staffed by 1,000 individuals. It has 24/7 air conditioning, clergy, legal, a recreational yard, and laundry on site as well.

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It is also equipped with over 200 security cameras and over 28,000 feet of barbed wire. Ten miles of the Everglades surrounds the facility on each side, as well.

However, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made it clear that illegal immigrants do not have to end up there if they make the wise choice to self-deport.

“If they self-deport and go home, they can come back legally. We will let them come back,” she told reporters Tuesday.

“And there is a lot of self-deportation,” Trump added.

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“If you wait and we bring you to this facility, you don’t ever get to come back to America. You don’t get the chance to come back and be an American again,” Noem warned.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said illegal immigrants brought to the facility have a final chance to voluntarily self-deport.

“So right when you do the intake, they have the information about voluntary departure. They have the ability, obviously, you guys are funding that, because it’s a lot cheaper to do it that way. So, even if they get brought to the front doorstep here, they still have an opportunity to just go back voluntarily,” the governor noted.

DHS announced in May that it would begin offering assistance for migrant flights for illegals who self-deport and provide them with a stipend once they are confirmed to have left the country. The federal agency noted that this is far more cost-effective for taxpayers.

“Currently the average cost to arrest, detain, and remove an illegal alien is $17,121,” the agency noted in a press release.