Ex-Trump aide defends ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ as he shrugs off cruelty claims

President Donald Trump's previous border czar is unconcerned about the conditions at "Alligator Alcatraz" in Florida.

Ken Cuccinelli, who briefly served as the acting Deputy Director of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021, told CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday that he has "no concerns" about whether migrants housed at the facility will live in inhumane conditions.

Tapper showed Cuccinelli a brief video of the facility, which includes bunk beds locked behind steel cages. He then asked whether Cuccinelli was concerned about the conditions.

"This is a facility Florida has used to stage people during hurricanes already," Cuccinelli said. "This is not the first time it's been used for large-scale habitation, and the idea here, just like in a hurricane, is that these people won't be there very long."

Alligator Alcatraz refers to an abandoned airport in the middle of the Florida Everglades that is being converted into a staging facility for immigrants facing deportation. The 39-acre plot is surrounded by alligators and pythons, and could house as many as 1,000 immigrants at a time.

Trump administration officials like Kristi Noem have backed the plan to open the facility. Noem has pledged to fund the facility using the Department of Homeland Security's FEMA budget.

Trump has also said he's eyeing more "Alligator Alcatraz"-style prisons across the country.

"One major advantage to this location, outside of its security, is the fact that they have the airstrip there," Cuccinelli quipped. "So, it facilitates logistics of moving people from other parts of the country, then home to their home country."

You can watch the entire exchange here.