A "deranged" cannibal being deported from the US started eating himself on the plane, according to Donald Trump'sHomeland Secretary.

Kristi Noem relayed the story on Tuesday while touring a migrant detention centre in Florida's Everglades, which has been dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" due to its swampy surroundings.

Noem - who was visiting the site with the president yesterday - praised the administration's deportation program, saying it was designed to remove "the worst of the worst" from the country.

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Noem, who was wearing a white Make America Great Again cap, said: “The other day, I was talking to some marshals that have been partnering with ICE.

"They said that they had detained a cannibal and put him on a plane to take him home, and while they had him in his seat, he started to eat himself and they had to get him off and get him medical attention."

“These are the kind of deranged individuals that are on our streets in America, that we’re trying to target and get out of our country because they are so deranged they don’t belong here,” she added.

"Alligator Alcatraz" - which sits on an old airfield site - was constructed in just eight days and features thousands of beds behind cages. Florida's Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, expedited the $450million (£327million)-per-year tent facility in Ochopee, near Miami.

The governor also plans to use the National Guard as immigration judges, allowing them to push through the deportation process quickly - a plan that Trump has given the green light.

The facility has swiftly become a symbol of the president's push for mass deportations.

DeSantis said migrants will start arriving there soon after his visit, which included walking through a medical facility featuring temporary cubicles as areas for treatment.

Assembled on a remote airstrip with tents and trailers that are normally used after a natural disaster, the migrant camp has been nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” a moniker that has alarmed immigrant activists but appeals to the Republican president’s aggressive approach to deportations.

"This is not a nice business," Trump said while leaving the White House. Then he joked that "we're going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison."

"Don't run in a straight line. Run like this," he said, as he moved his hand in a zigzag motion. "And you know what? Your chances go up about 1%."

Ahead of Trump's arrival, local authorities were positioned by the entrance of the airstrip. Media vans and other vehicles were parked along the highway lined by cypress trees.

A key selling point for the Trump administration is the site's remoteness — and the fact that it is in swampland filled with mosquitoes, pythons and alligators. It hopes to convey a message to detainees and the rest of the world that repercussions will be severe if the immigration laws of the United States are not followed.