NEW YORK -- The first group of immigrant detainees has arrived at a new detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," amid US President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts against illicit immigrants, local media reported Thursday.

"Detainees began arriving last night," Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement, as cited by Columbia Broadcasting Corporation.

"We are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people's mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens. We will expand facilities and bed space in just days, thanks to our partnership with Florida," added McLaughlin.

The facility was built in just eight days. Featuring more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet of barbed wire and 400 security personnel, it will have a capacity of about 3,000 detainees when fully operational, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said.

Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to halt construction of the new immigrant detention facility, arguing that Florida officials and the federal government have trampled over environmental regulations in their rush to build the facility, the New York Times has reported.

Human rights advocates and Native American tribes have also protested against the center, arguing that the facility endangers the delicate Everglades ecosystem, subjects detainees to harsh conditions due to extreme heat and mosquito infestations, and occupies land that holds sacred significance for the tribes.