Trump's border crackdown isn't just catching illegal aliens.
It's exposing who's been helping them obstruct immigration enforcement all along.
And Ron DeSantis slammed the Miccosukee Tribe with this one accusation that has them fuming.
DeSantis backs Trump's veto against Native American tribe
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just threw his full weight behind Donald Trump's controversial decision to deny the Miccosukee Tribe federal flood protection for their Everglades village.
DeSantis didn't mince words when attacking the South Florida tribe.
"They tried to obstruct. And it was demagogic," DeSantis said. "They were not being honest about what was going on."
The Governor's attack came after Trump vetoed HR 504 just before New Year's, blocking legislation that would have protected the tribe's Osceola Camp from flooding.
Trump made clear in his veto message why he was punishing the tribe.
"Despite seeking funding and special treatment from the Federal Government, the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected," Trump wrote.
The tribe had led a lawsuit last year that temporarily shut down Alligator Alcatraz, Trump's 3,000-bed migrant detention center in the Everglades.
A federal judge sided with the tribe and ordered the facility closed for two months in August 2025.
The judge claimed the facility violated environmental laws and threatened endangered species.
But an appellate court reversed that decision in September and allowed Alligator Alcatraz to reopen.
Tribe claims they're defending ancestral lands
Miccosukee Chairman Talbert Cypress insisted the tribe's opposition had nothing to do with Trump's immigration agenda.
"The Tribe has a constitutional duty to protect and defend the Everglades ecosystem, our traditional homelands. We have never sought to obstruct the President's immigration agenda," Cypress said in a statement.
The tribe argued they were simply demanding environmental reviews before the government built a massive detention facility on land near their villages.
Ten traditional Miccosukee villages sit within three miles of Alligator Alcatraz.
One Panther Clan family lives just 1,000 feet from the detention center.
The tribe used the surrounding area for hunting, fishing, ceremonies, and education long before the federal government seized the land.
But DeSantis and Trump saw through the tribe's environmental claims.
"They were trying to act like the sky was going to fall, and that was wrong," DeSantis stated. "And so what they did was wrong, and it was very disappointing to see them do that."
Attorney General James Uthmeier celebrated Trump's veto on social media.
"The Miccosukee Tribe was one of the first groups to sue us over Alligator Alcatraz. They shouldn't expect taxpayers to bail them out as they actively oppose federal and state immigration enforcement operations," Uthmeier wrote on X.
https://twitter.com/JamesUthmeierFL/status/2006373307671814211?s=20
Congress considers rare rebuke of Trump
The House is scheduled to vote Thursday on overriding Trump's veto.
HR 504 originally passed through voice votes in both chambers with bipartisan support.
Both of Florida's Republican Senators, Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, backed the legislation.
Republican Representative Carlos Giménez from Miami sponsored the bill.
Congress needs a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override the veto.
Senior Republicans and Democrats expect the House to approve the override in what would be a rare rebuke of Trump.
But whether the Senate has enough votes remains unclear.
Trump vetoed a second bill at the same time involving a Colorado water pipeline, which he claimed was punishment for Democrat Governor Jared Polis.
The White House issued no veto threats before passage of either bill.
Trump's scathing veto messages caught sponsors completely by surprise.
Cypress pointed out that late Chairman Billy Cypress, who led the tribe for 27 years before his death earlier in 2025, "enjoyed a friendship with President Trump and was an early supporter of his campaign in 2016."
The tribe insists it has "long supported President Trump's commitment to Everglades restoration."
DeSantis made clear he followed the legislation closely through the process but stopped short of saying whether he thought Congress should override the veto.
https://twitter.com/AmResolve/status/2009289513005158699?s=20
The Governor focused his attack entirely on what he claimed was the tribe's dishonesty about opposing Alligator Alcatraz.
Trump built Alligator Alcatraz to send a clear message to illegal aliens that if they're caught, they'll be detained in the middle of an alligator-infested swamp before deportation.
The facility became operational in July 2025 after Florida Attorney General Uthmeier unveiled it in a video calling it the "best" location because escapees would face "alligators and pythons."
DeSantis and Trump see any opposition to the detention center as obstruction of immigration enforcement.
And they're making anyone who fought against Alligator Alcatraz pay the price.
Sources:
- Jacob Ogles, "Ron DeSantis sides with Donald Trump in dispute with Miccosukee Tribe," Florida Politics, January 6, 2026.
- Mitch Perry, "DeSantis: Trump was 'accurate' in description of Miccosukees in veto message," Florida Phoenix, January 6, 2026.
- Jay Waagmeester, "'Not about special treatment,' Miccosukee Tribe responds to Trump veto," Florida Phoenix, January 5, 2026.
- Ana Goñi-Lessan, "Trump vetoes bill that would protect Miccosukee village in Everglades," USA TODAY, January 6, 2026.
