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The Florida government plans to close the controversial immigration detention center Alligator Alcatraz, located in the Everglades, before a year has passed since its opening, as revealed by The New York Times citing a federal official and three individuals familiar with the operations of the facility.
Officials from the center notified private suppliers this Tuesday that the facility will close, with the transfer of approximately 1,400 detainees scheduled for June and the dismantling of the structures to follow in the weeks thereafter.
The main reason is the high operational cost: the state spends over one million dollars daily on its functioning and has requested a reimbursement of 608 million dollars from the federal government, which has not yet been received.
The Department of Homeland Security concluded internally that the facility is ineffective and too costly, according to the same sources.
Some private providers contracted by the state have gone without payments for over 200 days, which could also jeopardize the response to hurricanes when the season begins on June 1.
The center was inaugurated on July 1, 2025 by President Donald Trump and the Republican governor Ron DeSantis at an abandoned airstrip within the Big Cypress National Preserve, built in just eight days using state emergency powers.
Designed to accommodate between 3,000 and 5,000 detainees, the facility never operated close to that limit and currently houses around 1,400 migrants, according to data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Among the current detainees, between 700 and 800 are Cubans, and 70% of them do not have final deportation orders.
Since its opening, the facility has accumulated reports of inhumane conditions: overcrowding, lack of food, inadequate medical care, extreme temperatures, non-potable water, and lack of access to lawyers.
In April, guards beat and pepper-sprayed detainees during a protest over the lack of access to phones, according to a lawyer's sworn statement to a court.
Governor DeSantis has systematically dismissed these claims.
On April 22, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals revoked a prior closure order, allowing the center to continue operating until now.
On Monday, DeSantis stated to the press that the federal government had not communicated its intention to close the center, but he admitted that if they stopped sending detainees, they would shut it down.
The governor also warned his Republican colleagues about the risks of abandoning immigration policy: "I believe it would be a significant political problem to stray from the mission of deportations," he stated.
The Department of Homeland Security responded to inquiries from the New York newspaper with a statement indicating that the agency "continuously evaluates the needs and detention requirements to ensure they meet the latest operational standards."
After the closure, the site will reopen as a small airport for pilot training, while the second state center known as "Deportation Depot", located west of Jacksonville with a capacity for 2,000 detainees, will continue to operate as confirmed by DeSantis.
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