Three candidates for governor push ideas for SC’s own ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Three candidates for South Carolina governor have now suggested the Palmetto State have its own detention center to detain immigrants in the country illegally, following the lead of Florida and its “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, in an op-ed posted by Fox News on Thursday, suggested using sites such as former correctional facilities that are no longer in use, for a possible “Palmetto Pen.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who formally jumped into the governor’s race Monday, previously suggested using “the Charleston Naval Brig to state prisons and federal lockups” to house people arrested by ICE.
And now U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman said he would support having a such a facility in South Carolina.
Ideas for states providing space for ICE to house immigrants taken into custody for deportation comes after Florida built a facility on a remote airport and called it “Alligator Alcatraz.” But creation of the facility has led to criticism from immigrant rights groups.
The Alligator Alcatraz creation has been lauded by Republicans who view security along the southern border as a top priority. It was the top issue for 2024 Republican presidential primary voters in South Carolina, which President Donald Trump won by 20 points over former Gov. Nikki Haley.
In the five-person race for the GOP nomination for governor, fighting against illegal immigration has been a key issue among the hopefuls..
Evette’s op-ed, which her campaign called the most aggressive plan proposed by any candidate, says the state has some “promising sites” for a facility, “like former correctional facilities that are no longer in use.”
Evette had been supportive of the idea of a South Carolina immigrant facility for several weeks on social media, but had not until Thursday given suggestions of specific locations.
“Palmetto Pen will give law enforcement the tools they need to detain and hold these violent criminals safely. It will ease the burden on our local and state jails. It will act as a powerful deterrent. And most importantly, it will save lives,” Evette wrote in the op-ed.
But those facilities may not be immediately available.
In the early 2000s, the SC Department of Corrections had its budget severely reduced, which included the closures of the Givens Correctional Institution in Pelzer and State Park Correctional Institution in Columbia.
In 2016, the state closed its Walden Correctional Institution in Columbia, which was turned into offices.
Several other prerelease facilities also have been closed in the last 13 years.
However, once the department of corrections closes a facility it either sells the property or reverts it back to the county or city that owns it. Some smaller facilities on the department’s Columbia complex have been converted into office space, the S.C. Department of Corrections said.
On Thursday, before Evette’s op-ed published, Gov. Henry McMaster told reporters he had not spoken to his lieutenant governor about specific locations to hold migrants wanted for deportation. However, the state has participated in immigration enforcement activities.
“The requests that we get on the phone, and they come through Homeland Security,” McMaster said.
South Carolina has sent the National Guard to the southern border to assist immigration enforcement. SLED and other law enforcement agencies also have worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the 287(g) program.
“We’ve been very busy, been in tight contact with whatever the needs are to secure our state (and) will continue to do that. We have not been asked to build a facility. That might be coming. We haven’t been asked to do that,” McMaster said.
Attorney General Alan Wilson has yet to weigh-in on an Alligator Alcatraz type facility but he has publicly pushed for county sheriffs’ departments to participate in the 287 (g) program and he joined lawsuits against the Biden Administration in how it handled immigration and security along the southern border.
“While President Trump has been fighting illegal immigration nationwide, I’ve been his partner here — working with sheriffs to partner with ICE to deputize local officers, arrest cartel members and traffickers, and I aggressively challenged Biden’s open border policies, six times, in court,” Wilson said in a statement. “We’ve got to remove illegal aliens from our streets and house them away from our families.”
State Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg, has also supported participation in the 287 (g) program, but he has not weighed in on an Alligator Alcatraz and did not comment on the idea of bringing a facility to South Carolina.
Mace in July posted on social media about South Carolina having its own version of an Alligator Alcatraz.
“Dear DHS: We’ve got a swamp and a dream,” Mace posted on social media. “South Carolina’s gators are ready and they’re not big on paperwork.”
“ICE is moving fast, with 59,000 in custody and just 400 beds left,” Mace posted on social media July 18. “South Carolina arrests are up 204% and detention space is near the breaking point.”
Norman in a statement lauded President Donald Trump and the members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their work on the border when he said he would support such a facility.
“I would absolutely support creating a detention center to house illegal immigrants wanted for deportation due to criminal charges,” Norman said. “I’d call it the Carolina Crook House.”
How would facility be paid for?
After her campaign kickoff on Monday, Mace said she would analyze the state budget for possible sources of money to help pay for such a facility.
“I’ve identified, I believe, over 400 spaces or beds where we could house illegals in different facilities,” Mace said. “I would start there and use existing facilities that we already have across the state, state wide, before I went and then built a structure.”
Evette’s campaign said the lieutenant governor would look to apply for the money available through FEMA’s detention support grant program as it would be a federal-state partnership.
“We don’t want the put the burden on local and county prison facilities,” said Matt Goins, Evette’s campaign spokesman, who added a facility could be a holding location for migrants facing criminal charges.
Goins added the lieutenant governor does not want to build a facility from scratch even pointing to federal facilities near military bases.
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
