About 70 National Guard troops activated to protect Alligator Alcatraz
by Ellen Mitchell - 07/02/25 4:48 PM ET
Just fewer than 70 Florida National Guard troops have been sent to guard the remote migrant detention center in the state’s Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” the Pentagon’s top spokesperson announced Wednesday.
“Nearly 70 Florida National Guard are on state active duty … conducting base camp security at Alligator Alcatraz,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told reporters.
The activation comes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he would send 100 guard troops there, with people arriving at the facility as early as Wednesday.
President Trump on Tuesday toured the site in southern Florida at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, saying afterward the complex is “surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is really deportation.”
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5382393-national-guard-troops-activated-alligator-alcatraz/
