“Alligator Alcatraz”, a temporary migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, making headlines across America, officially opened on July 3, 2025.

Due to its location, the facility is intended to deter potential escapees with the danger of the native Alligators. The facility’s colloquial name compares the threat of animal attacks to the danger of the vast waters surrounding the now-defunct Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco, CA.

The original Alcatraz operated for 29 years from 1934 to 1963 with no known completed escapes. Numerous movies have been made about the location, including Escape from Alcatraz featuring Clint Eastwood, Point Blank, and Birdman of Alcatraz.

In reality, some of America’s most infamous criminals from Prohibition-era gangsters like Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly, or McCarthy-era suspected communists like Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, spent time here.

Three inmates successfully broke out of the prison, but whether they survived the strong, cold currents of the water is unknown. However, the mother of two of the potential escapees supposedly received flowers anonymously every Mother’s Day until her death.