NBC’s Julia Ainsley raised eyebrows this week with her on-air concern that criminal illegal aliens detained at the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration facility might injure themselves if they attempt to escape. Yes, seriously. Amid a segment on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Ainsley fretted that President Trump’s newly implemented southern detention site, long rumored and often dismissed as a “joke” from his first term, is now operational — and perhaps, in her view, too effective.
The facility, lacking traditional walls, is surrounded by natural swamp terrain populated by alligators and pythons. Ainsley suggested the layout is symbolic, but admitted it could be an actual deterrent — and that, apparently, is where the problem begins.
“It is not supposed to be punitive,” she insisted, echoing the position that immigration detention must function more like an administrative waiting room than anything resembling jail. The suggestion that the facility could discourage escape attempts was framed as a moral dilemma rather than a success in security design.
A Florida wildlife director really just went on CNN to say that alligators are the real victims and aren’t even dangerous.
Trump has ruined these people. pic.twitter.com/9gOEphLKj2
— DeVory Darkins (@devorydarkins) July 1, 2025
This is where the disconnect becomes glaring. We are talking about individuals who, by definition, entered the country illegally. If they then attempt to escape lawful detention while their immigration proceedings are underway — or in some cases, after being ordered for removal — that’s not just an administrative matter.
That’s a crime. But somehow, in Ainsley’s framework, concern must shift from protecting the public to ensuring detainees don’t twist an ankle if they try to flee through gator-infested marshland.
And it wasn’t just NBC. Over at CNN, they took it a step further. Not satisfied with worrying about detainee safety, they trotted out Elise Bennett from the Center for Biological Diversity to express concern for the alligators. Yes, CNN gave airtime to wildlife advocacy commentary centered on the emotional well-being of swamp reptiles. “I’m more concerned for the wildlife than the folks on the site,” Bennett said, claiming alligator aggression is exaggerated.
Except there’s a readily available Wikipedia page — and actual fatality statistics — documenting dozens of deadly alligator attacks, mostly in Florida. You can find it faster than the media found Bennett’s business card.
Meanwhile, there’s a deafening silence from these same voices on why such a facility exists in the first place. There’s little mention of the Laken Rileys, the Jocelyn Nungarays, and the countless American citizens who have suffered or been killed due to failures in border enforcement. Their stories don’t warrant primetime network lamentations or expert panels. But the discomfort of border-jumping detainees or the feelings of a python? Cue the violins.
