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Alligator Alcatraz in Florida may face shutdown soon, $218M investment at risk
DHS is moving detainees from Florida's Everglades detention site after a judge blocked new transfers. The $218M center faces lawsuits and may soon close.
Less than two months after opening, the South Florida immigrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" may close, carrying a $218 million price tag, as reported by USA Today.
The Department of Homeland Security has started moving detainees out of the facility in the Big Cypress National Preserve, Gov. Ron DeSantis said on August 27. This comes after a federal judge blocked new construction and transfers of new detainees.
Judge orders Alligator Alcatraz closed within 60 days
US District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a temporary restraining order on August 7 in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe. Two weeks later, she ordered the state and federal government to close the facility within 60 days. Florida appealed, but Williams denied the motion on August 27. Florida Division of Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie said in an August 22 email that the facility could be empty within days, as per the news outlet.
DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who championed the site, insist operations will continue. Since its July 3 launch, the Everglades facility has faced accusations of inhumane conditions and detainee civil rights violations. Environmental groups say the state failed to conduct a federally required impact study. Additional lawsuits on detainee rights, including access to attorneys, are still in court.
Florida plans second detention site as Alligator Alcatraz faces closure
Florida is already planning a second site, while Indiana and Nebraska have similar facilities in the works. "Alligator Alcatraz" is a temporary detention site in a remote Everglades location, meant to hold undocumented immigrants for processing and deportation. The site, formerly a 39-square-mile airport with a 10,500-foot runway, is now fenced with barbed wire and tents. It was designed to hold 3,000 detainees with 1,000 staff and 400 guards.
The center opened quickly as DeSantis and the Trump administration expanded efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. Officials say sites like this help reduce crowding in local jails and state prisons.
Florida spent $218M on detention site
Florida has spent $218 million converting the airstrip into a detention center. Shutting it down temporarily would cost $15–20 million, with similar costs to reopen it. AP analysis shows the state signed at least $405 million in vendor contracts for construction and operations.
DeSantis announced a second site, "Deportation Depot," at Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, costing about $6 million to start. Unlike the Everglades site, Baker CI is less likely to face environmental challenges, though legal issues over detainee treatment will continue.
