Daily Beast: Florida Proposes ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to House Illegal Migrants

The state’s AG has pitched a dystopian Everglades detention camp surrounded by crocs and snakes as an “efficient” solution for holding “criminal aliens.”

ICE’s assault on illegal migrants could be about to take a dystopian twist—with the creation of a detention camp dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier has proposed building a center in the middle of the Everglades—surrounded by ‘gators, crocs and snakes—as a “low-cost” solution for detaining what he described as “criminal aliens.”

Speaking from the Miami-Dade Collier training facility, Uthmeier said in a video posted to his X account that the abandoned airfield site in a 30-square-mile patch of isolated swamp, could quickly be transformed into what he called “Alligator Alcatraz.”

“People [detained migrants] get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide,” he declared. “It presents an efficient, low-cost opportunity… because you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter.”

With ICE detention centers overflowing, Uthmeier claimed the site could be operational within 30 to 60 days of breaking ground and could house up to 1,000 people.

Uthmeier also did not provide any details about funding, oversight, and federal involvement…. The [DHS] department is tearing through its budget, which is already more than $1 billion in the red, according to a report in Axios on Monday.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-attorney-general-james-uthmeier-proposes-alligator-alcatraz-to-house-illegal-migrants

Wall Street Journal: Trump Is Losing Political Ground on Immigration

The Trump administration’s aggressive deportation program is testing the political bounds of what Americans will tolerate, spurring a backlash from voters and some Republicans and testing the administration’s resolve.

Federal officials in recent weeks have stepped up raids on worksites and farms, seeking to fulfill President Trump’s pledge of mass deportations. The move has sparked alarm in immigrant communities and street protests in Los Angeles and other cities. Last weekend, Trump directed that arrests be paused at farms and hotels, only to reverse the directive days later.

Republican members of Congress from California, Texas and Florida have publicly urged the White House to give priority to deportations of criminals rather than migrants who have resided in the U.S. for long periods and have otherwise obeyed the law. The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R., Pa.), called the farm raids “just wrong.” The co-founder of Latinas for Trump, Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, wrote on X that the administration’s actions were “unacceptable and inhumane” and “not what we voted for.”

“I may have voted for Trump, but I can’t stay silent about what’s happening with ICE in LA,” Ryan Garcia, a former interim lightweight boxing champion who endorsed Trump last year, wrote on X. “We can have borders without losing our humanity.”

Presidents of both parties have historically hesitated to pursue large-scale immigration enforcement in the country’s interior precisely because it tends to be politically unpopular. Trump’s push for deportations far from the border has begun to trigger a backlash in public opinion, with polls showing his approval rating on immigration and deportations—formerly one of his strongest issues—has now turned negative.

Quinnipiac poll earlier this month found that just 43% approved of Trump’s performance on immigration while 54% disapproved. On deportations, 40% approved while 56% disapproved. In the polling average maintained by the analyst Nate Silver, Trump’s immigration policies were popular on a net basis until earlier this month—but are now more unpopular than popular by a 3-point margin. 

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-is-losing-political-ground-on-immigration-20de43bc

Also here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-is-losing-political-ground-on-immigration/ar-AA1H5df5

Raw Story: Mike Huckabee exposes ‘apocalyptic vision’ pushing Trump into war: columnist

Mike Huckabee shared a text message he sent urging president Donald Trump to strike Iran, and an Israeli journalist and author said the ambassador’s “Bible-thumping, messianic rhetoric” revealed the Christian right’s dark ambitions.

Trump’s ambassador to Israel called on Trump to join military operations against Iran, saying he was spared from an assassin’s bullet by God to be the “most consequential President in a century — maybe ever,” and Haaretz columnist Etan Nechin warned that Huckabee and other “Christian Zionists” are calling for war to usher in what they believe will be the end times.

“Huckabee believes deeply in Dispensationalist theology, which holds that modern Israel fulfills biblical prophecy and must be supported until the end of days. He’s also not shy about it,” Nechin wrote. “In April, standing atop the ancient walls of Jerusalem,the ambassador declared: ‘We have the opportunity to be representatives not only of our government, but also representatives of Jesus Christ.'”

https://www.rawstory.com/mike-huckabee-israel-vision

CNN: DHS issues new guidance for lawmakers visiting ICE facilities after tense confrontations

After a spate of tense encounters involving lawmakers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, the Department of Homeland Security is asking members of Congress to provide 72 hours of notice before visiting detention centers, according to new guidance.

Under the annual appropriations act, lawmakers are allowed to enter any DHS facilities “used to detain or otherwise house aliens” to inspect them as part of their oversight duties. The act outlines that they are not required “to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility.”

The agency’s new memo also seeks to differentiate ICE field offices from detention facilities, noting that “ICE Field Offices are not detention facilities” and therefore do not fall under the appropriations act provision.  

Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, called the move “unprecedented” and an “affront to the Constitution and Federal law.”

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/19/politics/dhs-ice-visits-congress-lawmakers

Miami Herald: Blue State Faces DOJ Lawsuit After Defying ICE

President Donald Trump has prioritized immigration enforcement by aiming to empower Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued New York over the Protect Our Courts Act, which restricts federal immigration actions near courthouses, highlighting efforts to address laws that may enable dangerous criminals to avoid law enforcement.

The Protect Our Courts Act prohibits ICE from making civil arrests at courthouses. The Trump administration claimed the law and state orders have violated the Supremacy Clause and obstructed federal enforcement.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/blue-state-faces-doj-lawsuit-after-defying-ice/ss-AA1H632t

Daily Beast: Trump Insider Reveals ‘Nobody’ Is Talking to Hegseth as Iran Crisis Spirals

The president is turning to others ahead of his Fox News star defense secretary.

Donald Trump is sidestepping his own defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, while seeking advice on whether to launch a military strike against Iran, according to a report.

An unnamed U.S. official told The Washington Post that the president is instead turning to a couple of four-star generals for guidance on whether to join Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, with the head of the Pentagon being largely left out.

“Nobody is talking to Hegseth,” the official said. “There is no interface operationally between Hegseth and the White House at all.”

Seriously, did you actually expect four-star generals to take orders from a washed-out O-3?

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-insider-reveals-nobody-is-talking-to-hegseth-as-iran-crisis-spirals

The Hill: GOP senator criticizes Padilla being wrestled to floor

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis (R) on Wednesday criticized the forceful removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference last week, while also critiquing his “inappropriate” behavior.

 Tillis said the incident, which followed a handful of escalations with Democratic lawmakers, was “disgusting” during a speech on the floor.

“There were clearly people in that building that knew he was a U.S. senator. So the minute he was removed from that situation in that briefing room, then they should have treated him with respect and allowed him to disperse,” Tillis said Wednesday.

“It was disgusting to me to see somebody wrestle to the floor, anybody, but particularly a U.S. senator that’s in a federal building,” he added.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5357540-thom-tillis-alex-padilla-press-conference

MSNBC: The damage has been done: MAGA spreads misinformation after Minnesota shootings

Early reporting suggests the suspect, Vance Boelter, is an evangelical Christian and a conservative who attended political rallies for Donald Trump. Boelter was allegedly targeting liberals and abortion rights advocates, and he reportedly had a hit list naming other prominent Democrats.

But there has been a concerted effort among some on the political right to pretend that this targeted, political attack is not what it looks like.

When Trump was asked on Tuesday if he had called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about the shootings, the president told reporters: “I don’t want to call him.”

“Look, he appointed this guy to a position. I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out. I’m not calling him. Why would I call him? I could call and say, ‘Hi, how you doing?’ The guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s a mess. So, you know, I could be nice and call, but why waste time?”

Trump’s claim that Walz “appointed” Boelter was likely in response to a story that broke in The New York Post on Saturday afternoon amid all the confusion in the wake of the shooting. It was truly one of the most audaciously cynical things I have ever seen from a Rupert Murdoch-owned publication — and that is really saying something.

An archived version of the headline as it appeared on the Post’s website Saturday read: “Former appointee of Tim Walz sought in deadly shootings of Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, had ‘No Kings’ fliers in car: sources”

In that article, The New York Post took two facts about this case and appeared to use them to manufacture a completely false narrative. First, the fact that the suspect, Boelter, was reappointed to an incredibly obscure little bipartisan commission on workforce development by Walz a few years ago. And second, that the suspect, who was targeting critics of Trump, apparently had flyers for Saturday’s “No Kings” protest in his car. The idea here, it appears, was to paint this guy as some sort of leftist.

Naturally, this conspiracy theory spread in the sewer that is Elon Musk’s social media platform, X. In fact, it was even promoted by Musk himself, who shared the conspiracy initially, adding: “The left is murderously violent.” He later edited the post to read: “The far left is murderously violent.”

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah helped spread the misinformation by making a number of despicable comments about the shooting on his personal X account. Lee shared an image of the alleged gunman with the caption: “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.”

You have to come to one of two conclusions here: Either Lee is so childishly gullible that he will believe even the most outlandish conspiracy with the flimsiest of evidence. Or he is so unfathomably cynical that he knows it’s a lie but wants his followers to believe it anyway.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/minnesota-shootings-republican-misinformation-rcna213743

Daily Beast: Trump Orders ICE Vengeance Hit on Cities That Protest Against Him

President gives nakedly political order for law enforcement to target Democratic cities.

Donald Trump ordered ICE officers to prioritize deportations in Democrat-run cities in a wild Truth Social rant Sunday night.

Trump told ICE staff to “do all in their power” to detain and deport undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-orders-ice-vengeance-hit-on-cities-that-protest-against-him

Raw Story: Trump delivered a ‘slap in the face to Stephen Miller’ with pivot: MSNBC analyst

A decision by Donald Trump to urge ICE agents to change where they snatch up unsuspecting immigrants was a direct rebuke to White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller.

That is the opinion of former Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin as she spoke to MSNBC’s Ali Velshi on Sunday morning.

Attributing the change of heart by the Trump administration to “donor pressure,” Rubin explained, “All of the ag interests and the hotel owners and Trump himself who rely on undocumented immigrants, don’t like this.”

“You know, who could have predicted that this would unravel the economy?” she asked sarcastically. “Who could have predicted that this would be disruptive to American society and the economy? Well, all of us have.”

“And this is really a slap in the face to Stephen Miller and those people who thought that somehow [they were] going to deport 11 million people, it is never going to happen,” she predicted.

Stephen Miller is an ass. Nobody will be shedding any tears for him if his feathers are ruffled.

https://www.rawstory.com/stephen-miller-2672374100