Kristi Noem, MTP Anchor Clash over Alligator Alcatraz

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Sunday staunchly defended the Trump administration’s new migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” during a heated appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press. The interview followed Democratic lawmakers’ claims that the facility is a humanitarian disaster.

In a sharp exchange with anchor Kristen Welker, Noem accused Democrats of hypocrisy and political posturing after their congressional tour of the center sparked allegations of inhumane treatment and deplorable conditions. “I wish they’d said that during the Biden administration,” Noem retorted as Welker pressed her on reports of overcrowded cells and contaminated water. 

“They were stacking people on cement floors with no room to move. They never spoke up then, and this political theater needs to stop.”The confrontation came a day after Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and other Democrats visited the facility, likening it to an internment camp. “The conditions are vile and disturbing—this place is a stunt and must be shut down,” Wasserman Schultz told reporters. 

Lawmakers reported over 30 migrants crammed into cage-like cells with only three combination sink-toilets, mid-80s temperatures in medical tents, and rampant insects. Detainees were heard shouting, “I’m an American citizen!” and chanting “Libertad!” (Spanish for “freedom”).

Welker challenged Noem: “Thirty people in a single cell? Drinking water from the same place they use the bathroom?” Noem, unfazed, responded, “Our federal detention centers meet higher standards than most state or local facilities, even federal prisons. This state-run facility exceeds those requirements.”

She added, “I’ve been there. These are secure cells that meet the government’s highest detention standards.”When Welker noted Democrats’ description of the cells as “cages,” Noem revealed that the administration would soon allow cameras inside the facility to address the controversy.