Florida Republicans love Alligator Alcatraz; many not bothered if legal residents are mistakenly deported

Anthony Man, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Jul 24, 2025

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Florida Republicans are enthusiastic about Alligator Alcatraz.

A public public opinion poll from the University of North Florida, released Thursday, found 65% of Republicans surveyed have a favorable opinion of the detention center the state has established in the Everglades to house migrants illegally in the country, compared to 21% who have an unfavorable view.

Just 7% had never heard of what the state conceived and branded as “Alligator Alcatraz,” and another 7% said they didn’t know.

Mistaken deportations

University of North Florida pollsters also posed a question about one of the most controversial aspects of stepped up immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump: “If some legal U.S. residents are mistakenly deported to foreign countries, would that be an acceptable part of the larger deportation program, or not an acceptable part of the larger deportation program?”

Almost three-quarters of state Republicans surveyed said it was “not acceptable.” Almost a quarter said it would be acceptable.

The split was 73%-23%.

The UNF poll surveyed Republicans only, because a major element of the survey was examining views of voters if their party ends up having a primary to nominate a candidate for governor next year.

Women (75%) were slightly more likely than men (70%) to label it not acceptable and college graduates (77%) were slightly more likely than non-college graduates (71%) to see it as unacceptable.

There were statistically insignificant differences among voters in north, central and South Florida.

There was, however, a difference between rural voters, who disapproved 71% to 24%, and urban voters, whose disapproval was greater, 74% to 20%. That’s a net disapproval of 47 percentage points for rural voters and 54 points for urban voters.

Younger and older Republicans also showed a major difference.

Among voters under age 55, at least 80% said it was unacceptable and 12% to 15% said it was acceptable.

Among voters 55 and older, 66% said it was unacceptable. And 29% to 30% of older Republicans said mistaken deportation of legal residents was acceptable.

Alligator Alcatraz

There’s a political subtext to the back and forth over the center. It was conceived by Florida’s appointed attorney general James Uthmeier, who is running to retain the job in next year’s elections and coined the name.

It’s been championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed the attorney general. Uthmeier was DeSantis’ gubernatorial chief of staff and was campaign manager for much of his unsuccessful candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

DeSantis hosted Trump for a tour of the facility on July 1 and detainees began arriving on July 3. Republican elected officials who control the state and federal governments have said the center is necessary and is operating as it should.

Democrats and many immigrant activists and environmentalists are horrified by what they have seen at and heard about the immigration detention center located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee.

College graduates had a less favorable view of Alligator Alcatraz than people who didn’t graduate from college. Among non-college graduates it was a net positive for Alligator Alatraz of 51 percentage points. Among college grads it was a net positive of 34 percentage points.

There was also a major generational difference:

— Age 18-34: 33% favorable, 30% unfavorable, 21% never heard of it, 16% don’t know.—Age 35-54: 66% favorable, 25% unfavorable, 2% never heard of it, 8% don’t know.—Age 55-64: 76% favorable, 13% unfavorable, 4% never heard of it, 4% don’t know.—Age 65+: 75% favorable, 17% unfavorable, 5% never heard of it, 2% don’t know.

There was almost no difference between men and women.

Other findings

Florida Republican voters said they approve 79% to 19% of the way immigration laws are being enforced nationally, including detentions and deportations. Most — 59% — strongly approve.

Immigration enforcement in Florida is seen as “about right” by 54% of surveyed Republicans. Another 17% said it has “gone too far” and 25% said it had “not gone far enough.”

Immigration authorities searching communities for people they believe are in the U.S. illegally is supported by 75% and opposed by 22% opposition.

Fine print

The poll of 797 active Florida Republican registered voters was conducted July 14 to July 22 by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab.

The poll used online surveys, in which voters were contacted by text message and asked to complete the survey, and live callers to people’s phones.

The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points for the full survey.

However, the margin of error for smaller groups, such as men and women, rural and urban residents, or different age groups, would be higher because the sample sizes are smaller.

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