Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who first suggested building the $450 million-per-year facility at a small airport in the middle of the Everglades, garnered praise from conservative leaders around the country for the project.

The first group of immigrants has arrived at a new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that officials have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” a spokesperson for Republican state Attorney General James Uthmeier told The Associated Press.