(The Hill) — The Florida Republican Party was selling merchandise touting the Florida migrant detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz” ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the site on Tuesday.
The state party was selling men’s and women’s t-shirts retailing for $30, as well as baseball hats going for $27 and beverage coolers going for $15.
Trump visited the detention facility on Tuesday along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who Trump has endorsed for governor next year.
“We’re going out to Alligator Alcatraz. It’s an East Coast version,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “It should be very exciting, very good. We worked very hard on it with Ron and everybody and I think it’s going to be great.”
The site includes soft-sided holding units for hundreds of detainees through a partnership in which the federal government will provide the funding. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has overseen its build-out and management. Additional holding units will be added through next month, under the agreement.
The facility is expected to cost about $450 million per year, which will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Shelter and Services Program that was used to house asylum-seekers during the Biden administration.
