Related videos:
The controversial immigration detention center Alligator Alcatraz, located in the Florida Everglades, is reported to have cost American taxpayers up to 20 times more than other similar centers in the country, according to a financial investigation by CBS News Miami published after the announcement of its closure.
The analysis determined that keeping a detainee in that facility cost $3,571 per day, compared to the $165 that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pays on average to privately-run jails and prisons under contract across the rest of the country.
The total accumulated cost during its 350 days of operation is estimated at 1.2 billion dollars, which would make it the most expensive immigration detention center in the history of the United States.
CBS Miami arrived at that number by multiplying the 21,000 detainees processed by the average stay of 16 days recorded by ICE, resulting in a total of 336,000 detainee days. When dividing the 1.2 billion by that number, the daily cost per person comes out to $3,571. From another perspective, the facility consumed an average of $3.4 million each day it remained open.
John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE during the Obama administration, deemed the figure scandalous. "It's a shocking number; if that number is accurate, it's an absolutely staggering fee," he stated. "This idea of a $3,500 fee for a facility that is inconvenient and does not help ICE fulfill its mission... that makes me wonder who is protecting the taxpayers' money."
Sandweg emphasized that the debate should not be reduced to pro or con positions on immigration. "What I'm saying is that there are existing jails that are much cheaper, old closed prisons, and private contractors where ICE can secure those beds, accommodating the same individuals on their way to deportation, in a more convenient, safer manner for the agents themselves, and much cheaper for the taxpayer," he noted.
The center was built in just eight days through non-bid contracts, ordered by Governor Ron DeSantis, on the site of the former Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee. The idea originated from Florida's Attorney General, James Uthmeier, who described it on June 19, 2025, as an "efficient and low-cost opportunity," arguing that the natural environment —alligators and pythons— would make expensive perimeter security infrastructure unnecessary.
The final closure was announced by DeSantis on June 25, who defended the management of the center. "Alligator Alcatraz fulfilled the role for which it was designed," the governor stated. "It has helped to remove many dangerous individuals from the streets and to take them not only out of the state of Florida, but out of the United States of America."
The funding for the center has also been a source of controversy since the beginning. Florida covered the operational costs with emergency state funds—$458.5 million from the last fiscal year—with the promise of federal reimbursement. The state requested $608 million, but only received $58 million on June 1, 2026; the rest was blocked due to legal challenges.
In addition to the cost, the center faced serious allegations of inhumane conditions. Amnesty International documented overcrowding of between 27 and 32 people per cage, overflowing toilets, non-potable water, and constant lighting. A Human Rights Watch report from May 2026 noted that the water "tasted like toilet water" and caused illnesses. Nearly 60% of detainees were classified by ICE as individuals with no prior criminal convictions, contradicting the original justification for the project.
The site is set to reopen as a small pilot training airport, its original use before becoming the most expensive—and controversial—detention center in U.S. immigration history.
Filed under: