Trump OKs using National Guard as immigration judges at Florida detention center

Romy Ellenbogen, Tampa Bay Times on Jul 1, 2025

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would approve Florida’s plan to expedite deportations by having qualified National Guard members work as immigration judges.

Trump made the announcement during his visit to a new state-run immigration detention center in South Florida dubbed Alligator Alcatraz.

For months now, Gov. Ron DeSantis has sought the approval of the federal government to deputize Florida National Guard Judge Advocate General Corps. officers to act as immigration judges.

On Tuesday, Trump said he is in favor of the plan.

“He didn’t even have to ask me. He has my approval,” Trump said during a roundtable discussion at the immigration detention center in the Everglades.

DeSantis on Monday said having the National Guard work as immigration judges on site at the detention center could fast-track deportations.

On Tuesday, DeSantis said his goal was to cut through “bureaucracy.”

Because the detention center is built on an old airstrip, DeSantis and others have also said it will speed up the deportation process by allowing the federal government to fly migrants out of the site.

Attorney General James Uthmeier, who was instrumental in the detention center’s planning, said on social media Tuesday that it was a “one stop shop for immigration enforcement.”

“Come in, get your ‘process,’ and fly out,” Uthmeier said.

According to Florida’s proposed immigration plan from earlier this year, there are nine Judge Advocate General officers in the National Guard who could be trained as immigration officers and training would take six weeks.

The National Guard did not immediately return a request for comment.