TRANSCRIPT: President Trump Tours New Immigration Detention Facility in Ochopee, Florida, 7.1.25
[Video]
President Trump: So I thought this was so professional and so well done, that you should come and look at it as opposed to standing around and not knowing where we are. And we're just taking tourists through the areas where they stay and the areas where the medical is and all. And they've really done between Kristi, and Ron, and the whole group, it's really government working together. And, uh, congratulations, you two [Inaudible] -- but I want you to see it as opposed to waiting for us and then say, "How was it?" Right? It really is, uh, pretty amazing. Did they take the vote yet? How's the vote doing? How the vote?
Kristi Noem: No --
Trump: I would normally be home, waiting for the vote.
Noem: Yes, we would. but --
Trump: Or be in Congress.
Noem: That's right [Laughs]
Trump: But I wanted to come down.
Ron DeSantis: [Laughs]
Noem: I I hear the vote's gonna be good. So you'll let know. You'll let know. I'll let Have they taken it yet? What's that? They're taking it now. I don't think. Not I conclude, but they are. Wouldn't that be an upset? Huh? Are you confident? Yeah. It's a great, it's the greatest tax cut in the history of our country. And if it doesn't pass, it's the biggest tax increase in the history of our country. That alone, 68% increase as opposed to a massive cut. It's the biggest tax cut in the history of our country and everybody gets it.
Question: Mr. President and Madam Secretary, CNN yesterday pushed an app that lets you track where ICE --
Noem: Yeah.
Question: -- agents are. Uh, Tom Homan --
Noem: Yes.
Question: -- was saying that perhaps CNN should be prosecuted for that.
Trump: It's okay with me.
Question: It's a [Inaudible] -- law enforcement.
Noem: We're --
Question: Your, your response.
Noem: Yeah, we're working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that, because --
Trump: Sadly.
Noem: -- what they're doing is actively, uh, encouraging people to avoid law enforcement ac- -- activities, operations. And we're gonna actually go after them and prosecute them with the partnership of FAM if we can. Because what they're doing, we believe is illegal. A --
Trump: And they may be prosecuted also for having given false reports --
Noem: Yes.
Trump: -- on the attack in Iran.
Noem: Yes.
Trump: They were given totally false reports.
Noem: No.
Trump: It was totally obliterated. And our people have to be celebrated. Not come home and say, "What do you mean we didn't hit the targets?"
Noem: Yes.
Trump: We hit the target [Inaudible] -- you know, the pilots came home and they said, "We hit the target first." So they may be very well –
Noem: Yeah.
Trump: -- uh, prosecuted for that. What they did there we think is totally illegal. Okay, let's go. Follow us.
**Note: [The tour continues. The video picks up at another stop in the tour.]**
DeSantis: -- six high. Make sure there's nothing that could be used for contraband or weapons, uh, before the detainees come in.
Trump: See what I mean? It's, uh, an amazing job. You've all done a great job. Proud of you.
Question: Mr. President, Mr. Governor, what's the message to Governor Gavin Newsom inside of this facility?
Trump: Well, the first thing he should do is come here and learn something, because they don't do this. They don't know, they wouldn't know where to begin. And if they did it, it would trust him a hundred times more. So I would say he should call the governor and Kristi, and I'm sure you'd give him, uh, because he –
Noem: Now we wou- -- I could give him lots of advice.
Trump: -- his, his state is a disaster, and he doesn't do this. We know –
DeSantis: Well, they have the original Alcatraz, so you guys can approve him –
Noem: Right. That's true.
DeSantis: -- being able to set one of these up over there.
Noem: Yeah. Got the original.
DeSantis: I'm sure, I'm sure the –
Noem: That's right.
DeSantis: -- secretary would be happy to do that.
Noem: Yeah.
Trump: Yeah.
DeSantis: -- and provide su- -- I, my, my sense is he's probably not gonna bite on that.
Trump: No.
DeSantis: Uh, but, you know, but I don't know that they'd be able to come in at cost –
Noem: Yeah.
DeSantis: -- because, you know, they tried to do this high speed rail. They spent like 150 billion, no tracks. We've got a privately funded rail in Florida from Miami to Orlando, cost the taxpayer zero.
Trump: Yeah.
DeSantis: Um, and it's very successful. So it's just a much different approach between states.
Trump: We're not, we're not gonna let him get anywhere near Alcatraz. It'll cost, uh, a hundred times more than they thought. Now he ought really, he ought to come here and study this, because he could learn a lot. Yes?
Question: [Inaudible] -- what do you think?
DeSantis: Tomorrow.
Noem: Hopefully, yeah, hopefully tomorrow, within the next 24 hours.
Trump: They have the doctors, they have –
Noem: Yep.
Trump: -- all the professional people –
DeSantis: There's gonna be a –
Noem: Definitely.
DeSantis: -- security sweep because there've been civilians here. So they will sweep this multiple times to make sure there's nothing can be used as weapons or any contraband, and then once that's cleared, then they'll do, so it's really up to, secretary I know has got people in the queue. And so they'll be ready to receive.
Question: I think our viewers at home should know that this air-conditioned facility, so –
Noem: Yes, it is.
Question: -- it could even use [Inaudible] -- in South Florida [Inaudible]
Trump: This air condition feels good in here, to be honest, yes.
Question: [Inaudible]
Trump: Hey.
Noem: Yeah.
Trump: Biden wanted me in here. Okay? That [Inaudible]
Noem: [Laughs]
Trump: He wanted me, didn't work out that way, but he wanted me in here, that son of a –
Question: [Inaudible] this would do [Inaudible]
Trump: Well, a lot of things, and they're both telling me that, uh, these people come in here, they wanna go home, and they wanna go home. So we immediately send them home. You know, where it's appropriate. Now, if somebody's a real killer, killer, we –
Noem: Yeah.
Trump: -- don't send them anywhere. We put them in a maximum security. And look, what we inherited from this guy, this incompetent man and his administration, which wasn't incompetent. It was radical left, lunatic, communists, whatever you want to say. I know most of them. Uh, what we inherited should never ever be forgot, what they'd made us do. This is all because of an open border policy where 25 million people float in from all over the world, from prisons, from all over the world, they float in. For no reason whatsoever. We had, you know, when I left, we had a very powerful border. We had no problem. He opened it up day one, he just opened the border. People couldn't believe it. They were standing there. What are they doing? They said, "Go in." That's the day, you look at the first day tapes. They opened it up and they said, "Go in." And that's where all of this began. But, uh, this is an amazing thing that they've done here. Really is.
Noem: So, listen, they don't, people don't have to, they don't have to come here. If they self-deport and go home, they can come back legally. We will let them come back legally.
Trump: And there is a lot of self –
Noem: Yes.
Trump: -- deportation.
Noem: But if you wait –
Trump: People wouldn't believe that.
Noem: -- and we, we bring you to this facility, you don't ever get to come back to America. You don't get the chance to come back –
DeSantis: Uh –
Noem: -- and be an American again and work here.
DeSantis: -- uh –
Noem: -- so –
DeSantis: -- they, they weren't with us when President and the secretary, Kevin, and I, we went through the, in the intake. So right when you do the intake, they have the information about voluntary departure. Uh, they have the ability. Obviously, you guys are funding that 'cause it's a lot cheaper to do it.
Trump: Yeah.
DeSantis: -- that way. So if, even if they get brought to the front doorstep here, they still have an opportunity to just go back voluntarily. And then this way they're not, not –
Noem: We could put him on a –
Question: That's it.
Noem: We can put them on a plane that day and take them home. We'll buy their plane ticket, go home, and then they get the chance to come back legally. If they wait, let's say we're not gonna do that.
Trump: If they do that, they can come back legally –
Noem: Yeah.
Trump: -- after a period.
Noem: Yeah.
Question: [Inaudible] -- we have to find some way to get to the farm.
Trump: Yeah.
Question: And service [Inaudible] So now program [Inaudible] -- anything else Inaudible] -- has an effect. We can say what's entailed about that, why Inaudible]
Trump: [Inaudible] -- we wanna take care of our farmers and hotel workers and various other people. And we're working on it right now, and Ron's gonna be involved. And you're involved –
Noem: Mm-hmm, yeah.
Trump: -- already. So we have a case where, a lot of cases where ICE will go onto a farm. Uh, usually guys working there for 10, 15 years. No problem. The farmers know them. We're gonna put, it's called farmer responsibility, or owner responsibility, where they're gonna be largely responsible for these people. And they know these people. They've worked in, on the farms for 15 years, and all of a sudden they're, so I have a great, uh, Ron does, Kristi does, we have a great feeling for the farmer and for others in the same position. And we're gonna give them responsibility for people and we're gonna have a system of signing them up so they don't have to go. They can be here legally. They can pay taxes and everything else. They're not getting citizenship, but they get other t
hings and the farmers need them to do the work. Without those people, you're not gonna be able to run your farm.
Question: Question. [Inaudible] -- through the government attacking your card in 2024 [Inaudible] –
Trump: I didn't notice.
Noem: [Laughs]
Trump: I didn't notice you.
Noem: You didn't notice.
Question: Yeah. You're standing here now. It's probably -- It's like a 7. How, how would you describe your relationship and what future does, does [Inaudible] –
Trump: I would say it's a 10.
Question: You think?
Trump: I think it's a 10, maybe 9, 9, but it's a -- like a couple of little woes.
Noem: A little woes.
Trump: So maybe a 10.
Noem: A little scar tissue.
Trump: I think we have a 10. We, we –
Noem: [Laughs]
Question: Why'd you go south?
Trump: We get a long great.
DeSantis: Well, the, um, you know, the, the thing about it is, you know, I endorsed him immediately in January 2024. I raised, uh, his, uh, one of his packs, millions and millions of dollars. And obviously we saved him a lot of money in Florida because Florida was a deep red state. He didn't even have to do a rally in Florida. Whereas 20- 2016 and '20, this was like ground zero. Um, and so we've been, uh, you know, really happy to do that. And then we've worked very well on this and other issues. Uh –
Trump: Other issues, yeah.
DeSantis: -- with, with, with Florida. And you can call him at any time, and then he wants to be helpful for governors. I mean, I can tell you that. Um, we did Hurricane Helene last year. You didn't hear from the president at the time then, and then -- But, you know, with President Trump, you know, we know immediately you just may make the phone call.
Question: Mister -- Mr. President, yeah, um, followup question. I'm sorry, but you know [Inaudible] -- how far were you [Inaudible]
Trump: Very far. Yeah, very far. But he wants it too, I'll tell you. He's coming here next week. Uh, he wants to end it too. We had a tremendous success with Iran. Uh, they weren't happy. Somebody said, uh, when are you gonna sign? Said, sign? They are so bombed out. Did you see the report issued this morning? The place was decimated. Uh, it'll be years before anybody even gets down there. Uh, so that's not a priority. But we'll have a report and we'll have a -- whatever we want. We'll get from whatever we want from Iran. And I think, and I hope they wanna have a good country. You know, they have massive sanctions right now. Fighting sanctions.
Trump: It's gonna be very hard for them to do anything with those sanctions. And I look forward to maybe there'll be a time when we get along with 'em and they can rebuild their country. Would, would be nice.
Question: [Inaudible]
Trump: Well, he wants to. I can tell you he wants to. And I think we'll have it. I think we'll have a deal next week. That's what I think.
Question: Mr. President, do you intend to a- -- announce your, uh, pick a successor to Jay Powell earlier than, than say, or as early as say the summer or this fall?
Trump: Will I do something about who it's going to be?
Question: Yes.
Trump: I don't know. Hey, he'd be a good candidate.
Noem: Yeah, there you go.
DeSantis: [Laughs]
Trump: Might just, hey.
Noem: Yup.
Trump: She'd be a good candidate than Jim. Anybody would be better than –
Noem: If they be better than Jim.
Trump: -- Jim Powell.
Noem: [Laughs]
Trump: No, he's causing us a fortune because he keeps the rate way up. I think it's from derangement syndrome, personally, but, you know, we have a very strong country. We're, we're the strongest country. Look, our country right now is at a level that we haven't seen for 40, 50 years. What we're doing now is -- nobody's seen anything like it. Uh, I, I told you I was with -- in the Middle East, the king of Saudi Arabia said to me very strongly, he said, you know what?
Trump: A year ago you had a dead country. Now you have the hottest country in the world. We do. We have the hottest country in the world. Thank you very much, everybody.
Question: [Inaudible]
Noem: Sorry.
Trump: Uh, we'll be seeing it over the next couple of weeks.
Question: [Inaudible]
Trump: Also, those type of industries.