“Alligator Alcatraz” closure could cost Florida taxpayers $218M

Florida taxpayers could lose nearly all of the $218 million the state poured into its controversial Everglades detention center after a federal judge upheld her order shutting it down.

The facility, which has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” was quickly converted from a remote training airport into a sprawling detention complex. State officials opened it at the beginning of July as part of the Republican Party’s push to expand immigration enforcement and deportations. 

But U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled earlier this month that the state and federal government failed to follow environmental laws to protect the surrounding land, an order she upheld late on Wednesday. 

“The project creates irreparable harm in the form of habitat loss and increased mortality to endangered species in the area,” Williams wrote in her August 22 order.  

Shutting down the facility will cost the state $15–20 million immediately to dismantle structures, and another $15–20 million if Florida is later allowed to reopen it, according to the state’s court filings. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has already spent most of the $218 million making the airport suitable as a detention center, according to the filings. State contracts for construction and operation topped $245 million by late July.

The center has faced multiple legal challenges, including lawsuits from civil rights groups alleging detainees were not given necessary access to the legal system, as well as those from the Miccosukee Tribe and environmental organizations. The detention center has also come under heavy scrutiny for its reportedly “inhumane” conditions for the detainees, including food contamination and extreme temperatures.

“Based on publicly available contract data, The Associated Press estimated the state allocated $50 million for the bathrooms. Detainees and advocates have described toilets that don’t flush, flooding floors with fecal waste, although officials dispute such descriptions,” according to a CNN report. 

Williams dismissed claims that closing the facility would undermine federal immigration enforcement and Homeland Security officials confirmed Thursday that they are complying with the order.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is preparing a second detention center, dubbed “Deportation Depot,” at a state prison in north Florida. For now, “Alligator Alcatraz” stands as a costly symbol of the state’s aggressive immigration agenda.