Just months after President Donald Trump’s administration quietly moved to undercut a hardline immigration push by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the two Republican former rivals are appearing side by side on Tuesday for the opening of a new migrant detention center in the Everglades.
Trump and DeSantis are touring the compound — nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” — built on a remote airstrip surrounded by swamp and predators. In the latest display of his support for a signature Trump priority, DeSantis used emergency powers to seize the land and fast-track construction with encouragement from the Trump administration.
While a White House official described the Trump-DeSantis relationship as “fine,” DeSantis has faced a strained dynamic ever since he ran for the 2024 Republican nomination, crossing Trump, who believed he was responsible for the governor’s rise.
The White House for months has moved in ways that effectively isolated DeSantis in his own state, working behind the scenes with Florida lawmakers who refused the governor’s demands on immigration. And Trump has elevated other Florida Republicans, inviting them to events in Washington that the governor did not attend.
Also expected to attend Tuesday’s event: Rep. Byron Donalds, Trump’s favored pick to replace the term-limited DeSantis as governor, a not-so-subtle reminder of shifting Republican loyalties in their shared home state. DeSantis, meanwhile, has publicly suggested that his wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, would be a worthwhile successor.
The couple have quietly urged the president to scale back his involvement in the race. Trump has since made several high-profile appearances with Donalds.
As Trump was leaving the White House for Florida on Tuesday, he said his visit “should be very exciting, very good. Worked very hard on it with Ron and everybody, and I think it’s going to be great.”
DeSantis embraces Trump on immigration
No state moved more aggressively to align itself with Trump’s immigration crackdown than Florida.
Under a new law signed by DeSantis, local police agencies must cooperate with federal immigration officials — a policy shift that has helped Florida account for nearly 40% of the 737 agreements Immigration and Customs Enforcement has signed with local law enforcement departments since Trump took office, according to agency data. Earlier this year, DeSantis’ office and ICE announced the arrest of 1,120 undocumented immigrants over a week in what Florida called a “first-of-its-kind” statewide operation.
During a visit with Fox News on Friday, DeSantis described the new Everglades facility as a “one-stop shop” for detaining, processing and deporting undocumented migrants. When completed, it will hold up to 5,000 beds.
“This is going to be a force multiplier,” DeSantis said, “and we’re happy to work with the federal government to satisfy President Trump’s mandate.”
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, offered DeSantis some praise for his efforts ahead of the visit.
“I mean, Gov. DeSantis, I’ll give him credit. We got that facility that he’s putting up in Florida. We’ll be filling those beds as quick as we can, because we need more beds,” Homan told reporters at the White House.
But DeSantis had sought to go further. His office drafted legislation granting him unprecedented authority to deport migrants using state resources, a power traditionally reserved for the federal government.
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