The current administration is making good on one of President Trump’s campaign pledges to carry out mass deportations of foreign nationals residing in the U.S. without proper authorization. The Washington Post has reported that arrests increased from 45,558 to 94,906 in a year-over-year comparison between January 20 and June 11.
While many of those arrested have criminal records, 65% had no conviction, and 93% had no conviction for violence. The executive branch has an obligation to enforce immigration law and regulations, and any administration has the right to decide how best to use its limited resources to secure the border and remove those without authorization.
We are agnostic whether the administration’s apprehension strategy is appropriate or proportional.
However, the administration appears to forget the Golden Rule in law enforcement. Namely, when you arrest a suspect, you become responsible for their physical well-being, including safety, feeding, shelter, and medical care. Instead, the administration has opened a makeshift detainee facility dubbed the “Alligator Alcatraz” in the middle of the Florida Everglades. This former airport and training facility was not originally designed to house the 3,000 detainees it is expected to eventually hold for $411 per day, which comes to about $450 million per year.
The Hill reports that fresh water must be trucked in, mosquitoes run rampant, portable toilets routinely back up, and access to legal counsel is limited. The conditions are so rough that several guards have quit and have spoken out anonymously for fear of retaliation.
To further highlight the reported deplorable conditions, the Catholic bishops in charge of providing chaplains to the holding facility have complained that its remote location makes it hard to transport clergy to the detainees and have described the camp as “evil”.
The administration can do better than mosquito-infested makeshift jails built in a hurricane zone surrounded by alligators and pythons, and the Catholic Church can help. Higher education is experiencing a decline, and no sector is more impacted than rural private colleges. The root cause is a decline in the number of high school graduates due to lower birth rates, along with a decline in the percentage of high school graduates going straight to college, down from 70% in 2016 to 62% in 2022. Since 2020, 45 public or non-profit colleges have closed or announced their closures, and 37 have either merged or announced their mergers with other institutions. These institutions include the University of St. Katherine in California, Cabrini College in Pennsylvania, and schools in almost every state in between.
We recommend that the administration contract with the Catholic Church to use closed Catholic colleges to house detained migrants. Colleges are ideal for this situation because college campuses typically include dormitories, medical clinics, a cafeteria, a chapel, and classroom space, which can be turned into meeting rooms for attorneys and hearing rooms for immigration judges.
This arrangement would also be a financial boon for the Church. If the administration is willing to pay $450 million to house 3,000 migrants in a mosquito-infested swamp, then it should be willing to pay at least as much for quality facilities. The Church could then use these funds to offset the loss of income they once earned from resettling migrants on behalf of the Government. The detainees benefit by receiving higher-quality housing and services.
It would be a rare win for all involved.
If the administration is concerned that payment to the Church for use of these spaces might violate the Establishment Clause, consideration can be made for the use of failed private non-denominational campuses. For example, Cazenovia College in the Finger Lakes of upstate New York closed in December 2022. The New York State Police had been using the campus for training of two trooper classes but will vacate the space as of August 31, 2025. The campus, convenient to SUNY Upstate Medical Center and the Syracuse Airport, would logistically be far less challenging than the Everglades.
In addition, consideration can be given by the Administration for the use of underutilized military facilities, such as Fort Dix. Fort Dix (formally known as Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst) is already used by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to house federal inmates under lower levels of security. Doing so would greatly reduce expenditures for creating new infrastructure when existing facilities remain available.
In short, we believe that the Trump administration should pursue policies that increase efficiency and prudent use of fiscal resources to execute its apprehension strategy of those who remain in the United States without authorization. Substantial numbers of existing former colleges and military bases are available to provide locations for detention facilities, while allowing for better safety, feeding, shelter, medical care, and visits by legal and clergy representatives.
We urge the administration to consider these possibilities before constructing new facilities in remote or inaccessible areas, which will inevitably drive up the costs to the American taxpayer.
Dr. Robert Warren, Radford University
Dr. David P. Weber, Salisbury University
Dr. Timothy Fogarty, Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Vilson Dushi, Radford University
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If the facility is air-conditioned how is it mosquito infested?
I live a stones throw from an enormous swamp and while the mosquito population can be ridiculous outside that’s not the case indoors since my doors and windows stay closed when the AC is on.
If Alligator Alcratraz is open to the elements that’s a different proposition but it’s not what I’ve read.
(Our own state prison has no AC for inmates. )
No A/C? That’s harsh.
It is rather harsh Cbalducc but so are the folks who are incarcerated there. I believe inmates have fans available though.
I’m old enough to remember when homes & vehicles didn’t have AC either. We take a lot of comforts for granted today.
They are not migrants. They are illegal immigrants.
Two things that can be obtained at Alligator Alcatraz that are hard to come by on college campuses: the ability to lock people in and guard them securely, and quick & cheap cleanup and repair of the facilities that are not expected to be carefully taken care of by a stream of short-term inmates.
Quite apart from that, the bishops have not really said anything to indicate they would be willing to sign such a contract. Why was this repeatedly addressed to the Administration, and not once to the bishops/Catholic colleges?
Yes. Human beings should not be treated like dogs, even for the misdemeanour of irregular residency. All this cruelty just to distract attention from other issues and please part of the MAGA support base will only divide the US irreparably. Even after the headline-grabbing ICE raids, only 20,000 of those arrested within the US are being deported per month. At this rate, even President Baron Trump won’t finish the task. The real motive fore the anger about this misdemeanour is, of course, the Hispanic civilisation of most of those involved. But the hatred and cruelty of removing even a fraction of “illegals” will cost the US the loyalty of the 23% Hispanic population. Time to recognise officially that the country is, like Canada, a bi-lingual nation where two civilisations are present.
Miguel Cervantes: More of you TDS. Get help…quickly.
Mr. Cervantes, I’m guessing from your spelling you are posting from an Anglo culture outside the US & aren’t as familiar with the situation in the States.
Virtually everyone in US border communities are bilingual in English/Spanish but that’s absolutely not the case across the nation. Every immigrant child who attends US schools becomes fluent in English & a couple generations later their descendants may struggle to speak Spanish, Kreole, Mandarin, etc. People do assimilate .
We want our dogs. We don’t want illegals. They bring crime, drugs, violence, sex trafficking, and place burdens on our hospitals, schools and taxes. They were allowed here by the MILLIONS by the democrats, who then shrugged and said the problem could not be fixed and it was the fault of the Republicans!! Dems, as always, are LIARS. Then, Trump gets elected and , like magic!!! The borders are simply closed with no apology. No legislation needed. Even if illegal criminals are moved out at the snail pace of ONE a day, I want them gone. They are a danger to all Americans.
As far as LEGAL hispanic immigrants, if their loyalty is so thin that they can’t tell the difference between themselves and criminals, between honest decent people and violent thugs, that they would HATE Americans who are only enforcing the law, they are welcome to leave as well. Assimilate. Become American, or get out. NO ONE is ENTITLED to entry into the USA. We owe you NOTHING. Personally I think the legal Hispanics have more brains than to support gang bangers because of language or skin tone. But only time will tell. If they support the DEMs in the midterm elections who attempted to destroy the country, we will have our answer about their loyalty to America. It will mean they have none.
The Government has the right to deport illegal aliens. That said, they should be treated humanely. All this talk of throwing them to the alligators is hardly Christian and should stop.
The surrounding terrain discourages escape attempts. That’s not unique to this one facility. Our state prison has the same thing going on with gators, water, poison snakes, etc in an isolated location.
I don’t see anything done at Alligator Alcatraz that’s been inhumane but I agree the correct way to treat people is with respect.
I am a senior citizen now. But when I went to school (still in session in late June), the building was passing out hot in the summer. Usually there were not even fans in the classrooms. Most homes were the same for those of us from my economic strata. No one had an a/c unit at home . Even if our parents could afford to buy one, we could NOT afford the electric bill to run it. Nobody cried crocodile tears for us or put us up in expensive luxury hotels to save us, AMERICAN CITIZENS from the heat.
Let us remember that the vast majority of those held at Alligator Alcatraz have been either convicted or credibly accused of things like murder, rape, pedophilia, violent assault and other such crimes. I dont especially feel that they need to be treated with “respect” at all. Abused, no. But “respect?? Meh. In fact, it might be better that they return home with less than rave reviews about us. Word will get out. It might discourage more of their ilk from trying to come here to hurt innocent people.
They are being treated humanely, and no one is talking about feeding them to the alligators 🙄.
Now they’re being called “DETAINEES”. What nonsense. Why don’t we refer to those who have broken the law and have entered the USA ILLEGALLY, exactly who they are instead of using euphemisms? I don’t know if we’re being red-pilled or blue-pilled but I do know that the Average American is being taken for a dolt.
“This arrangement would also be a financial boon for the Church…to offset the loss of income they once earned from resettling migrants on behalf of the government.”
The NGO-cult appealing for revenues, to continue to get paid to “resettle” illegal immigrants where its paymaster, the Democrat National Committee, needs to have them located, for voter fraud operations.
You have nailed the situation exactly. This entire article is an argument for more Church corruption. It is painfully obvious here that the bishops’ interest in this matter is solely financial. The bishops need these revenues to help pay off sexual abuse lawsuits, and of course to continue to finance their luxurious lifestyles. The bishops are criminally implicated in this massive human smuggling operation, and they should be targeted by a RICO prosecution.
Rubbish, the author is simply seeking a federally funded revenue stream besides non of these illegal appeared before an Immigration Judge for due process under the law which is grounds for deportation.
Check out prisons in the US. No air conditioning, Guards bring in contraband, hard to get a priest to visit, toilet facilities without privacy and nothing to do that helps a criminal change his life. Wake up!
The lack of AC varies by location Dee. It’s true that since Covid it’s harder to have clergy visits but correctional facilities do offer all kinds of rehab/AA programs, free education & vocational training, gyms, etc.
Sometimes a little hardship is what helps a criminal wake up.
Also:
The 2nd paragraph seems to unintentionally hint at the uncomfortable problem the professors encountered in trying to frame their case:
– virtually all of the illegal immigrants imprisoned in this location “have been charged” with serious felony crimes; and
– a very high percentage are charged with violent crimes, and they just haven’t been put on trial and convicted…yet.
Which indicates the sinister motives of those in the former administration and Congress (of “our devout Catholic” ex-president Biden), who together made sure that their federal budgets de-funded ICE, crippling the agency that exists for the main purpose of adjudicating the cases of illegal immigrants, which defunding revealed the ultimate motive, that the mass flood of illegal immigration orchestrated by the “the Biden administration” in concert with its congresses was designed to ensure that virtually none of the illegal immigrants of 2020-24 would ever have their cases adjudicated, and that none of those charged with serious and violent felonies would ever be brought to justice.
The above making the recommendations of the authors seem rather tainted.
I found the following information on the internet to be interesting:
The Vatican has recently increased penalties for illegal entry into its territory, including fines and potential prison sentences. Specifically, unauthorized entry can result in fines between €10,000 and €25,000 (approximately $10,200 to $25,700 USD) and prison sentences of one to four years. Repeat offenders or those using violence or deception to enter may face harsher penalties.
The Vatican has very few prison cells and relies on Italian prisons to house most individuals convicted of crimes within its territory.
Italian prisons are generally characterized by overcrowding, understaffing, and poor conditions.
There is an appealing irony in the idea of the Church helping to clean up the immigration mess in which it has been complicit over the last several decades. Nevertheless, the Church and its institutions should avoid becoming contractors of the state. In the recent past, such contracts have resulted in Church dependency on government funding and Her fear of criticizing pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians and voters. If the government wants to buy defunct colleges for its own purposes, that is another matter. Better yet, Catholic institutions should find mission-related uses for its surplus properties: new seminaries, trade schools with religious formation – or maybe new colleges that are faithful to Catholic teaching. If the Church believes in Her apostolic mission, She should be willing to take the financial risk.
Dr. Robert Warren is a professor of accounting. Nothing more needs be added to this piece.
Exactly. And they quoted the Washington Post, so that pretty much destroyed any remaining credibility.
Ahhh. All these professors are obviously very nice Christian people. We can bet that if a woman with kids or just one guy just entered their house uninvited and made themselves at home in their living room or kitchen or basement or a bedroom, they would not call the police to get them out of the house. Instead, they would treat these illegals in their house humanely and provide them with food, care, etc. etc. and even with legal help to beat the little charges these illegals I mean trespassers I mean visitors would get for breaking the law. These professor would not follow the example of what the Vatican does with illegals entering the Papal lands. For this terrible treatment see Crusader above and this
Vatican Promises Stiff Penalties for Illegal Aliens Crossing its Border
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/01/16/vatican-promises-stiff-penalties-for-illegal-aliens-crossing-its-border/
What’s wrong with being a professor of accounting?
This article is so full of dishonest and misleading statements that it is hard to know where to begin in critiquing it. Above all, it is a textbook example of how to deceive with statistics. Just a few examples (of many): 1) the use of euphemisms like “foreign nationals residing in the U.S. without proper authorization” instead of “illegal aliens,” and 2) the claim that “while many of of those arrested have criminal records, 65% had no conviction, and 93% had no conviction for violence.” This belies the fact that nearly EVERY single detainee has been CHARGED with a serious offense, but simply released with no or little bail by liberal judges. As such, they have no criminal convictions (in the U.S. at least) because their cases have not gone to trial. And if Trump had not been elected, they likely would never have gone to trial, as catch and release was the order of the day under the Biden administration. The only thing wrong with the current administration’s approach to dealing with illegal residents is that it has been far too slow and too inefficient thus far, largely due to efforts of the judicial branch to undermine the law. By now, we should have deported at least a million illegals.
“While many of those arrested have criminal records, 65% had no conviction, and 93% had no conviction for violence.”
This is a blatant falsehood. The facility is detaining some of the worst and most violent criminal illegals. Over 600 have been deported so far. That’s a good start.
Were these four professors asked for their recommendations to ICE?
Did the bishops ask for their recommendations? The colleges?