Alligator Alcatraz Advertises Jobs Openings That Spark Backlash Online: "ICE, ICE, Baby"

When President Donald Trump collaborated with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to create an immigrant detainment camp in Ochopee, Fla., it seemed like the answer to all their problems.

The land is cheap because it's swampy, dangerous, and difficult to build on, and it put immigrants square in the heart of the wilderness, making their potential to escape a perilous prospect. The camp faced allegations of grim conditions, dangerous heat, and planned cruelty ahead of its July 1, 2025, opening.

As part of their plans to build what many have called a "concentration camp," Alligator Alcatraz leadership has apparently begun listing job openings, including for custodians, which has sparked a furious outcry online. Here's what we know about those openings, and why people are so split over calling the detention center a "concentration camp."

A quick search online shows several jobs being advertised for what many assume is Alligator Alcatraz. On TikTok, videos address the listings, with one playing Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice, Baby!" as the user scrolls through listings.

Several of the jobs, which purport to offer $95K according to @professionalinstigator, have drawn outcry from users online, who worry that people will seek the jobs for all the wrong reasons. Such as greed or a desire to hold power over vulnerable people.

But some people see the job openings as an opportunity. In response to one video, a number of TikTok users say that they're considering applying for the job and then helping the detainees, becoming advocates and allies on the inside.

Some offered to apply and then set detainees free, while one person decried the camp as "Alligator Auschwitz" in reference to the infamous concentration camp responsible for the death of an estimated 1 million Jewish people during World War II (via History).

Some said they were unable to find the jobs when they looked online, but we do know that at least some of the jobs will be taken by National Guard members who will provide security. According to The Miami Herald, at least 100 National Guard troops will keep the camp secure, with plans to increase numbers open on the table.

With all the media coverage and social media buzz about Alligator Alcatraz, you may see people occasionally throwing out the term "concentration camp" in reference to the sprawling Central Florida compound. The US certainly has a history with concentration, or internment, camps. In World War II, thousands of Japanese-American people were forced into interment camps in 1941 before they were closed in 1945, confining 120,000 innocent people in the interim (per Britannica).

But does Alligator Alcatraz really qualify as a concentration camp?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a concentration camp is, "a place where large numbers of people (such as prisoners of war, political prisoners, refugees, or the members of an ethnic or religious minority) are detained or confined under armed guard." The dictionary notes that the term is, "used especially in reference to camps created by the Nazis in World War II for the internment and persecution of Jews and other prisoners."

By the textbook definition, one could make an argument that Alligator Alcatraz is, in fact, a concentration camp. Florida State Representative Angie Nixon made the argument on CNN, accusing President Trump of using "modern day concentration camps" to further his agenda of mass deportations (via USAToday).

However, the note by Merriam-Webster distinguishing that the reference is usually made in conjunction with World War II has prompted some to decry connecting Alligator Alcatraz to concentration camps.

Ultimately, there's no easy answer. There seems to be a valid argument to be made that Alligator Alcatraz fits the textbook definition. But with the camp still in its early days, it's hard to say exactly what conditions will play out like and how detainees will be treated while in custody. Every concern about their rights to fair treatment and human dignity is fair, as are concerns that Alligator Alcatraz could function as a concentration camp.

Sometimes the only thing that separates past horrors from becoming present repeats is the oversight and determination of onlookers to ensure that we don't repeat the darkest days from our past. So while people might quibble over the classification of Alligator Alcatraz, the most important thing is to stay focused on oversight and accountability.