{"id":5371,"date":"2026-06-25T20:03:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5371"},"modified":"2026-06-25T20:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:03:56","slug":"alligator-alcatraz-closes-as-desantis-declares-victory-critics-slam-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5371","title":{"rendered":"Alligator Alcatraz closes as DeSantis declares victory, critics slam cost"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday confirmed the Alligator Alcatraz immigrant detention center is closing, but insisted the collection of reinforced tents in the middle of the Everglades proved effective in bolstering President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation efforts in Florida.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAlligator Alcatraz fulfilled the role that it was designed to serve,\u201d DeSantis told reporters at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, where the facility was housed.<\/p>\n

But critics slammed the expensive facility, as they have since its hasty, highly-touted launch a year ago. Following DeSantis\u2019 announcement, state Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando. said the facility \u201cis, and will forever be, a stain on our state\u2019s and our nation\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n

The facility, which DeSantis has said was always meant to be temporary, was established as Florida officials looked to create more bed space for migrant detainees set for deportation amid the second Trump administration\u2019s aggressive efforts to increase immigration enforcement. It officially opened on July 1.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the federal Department of Homeland Security announced the detainees there would be moved from the facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mission continues, but DHS is in a better footing,\u201d DeSantis said. \u201cDHS has more capacity to be able to handle these folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Detainees and their attorneys regularly complained of substandard conditions at the tent facility, with limited access to phones and medical treatment. Conservationists said that required environmental reviews were skirted.<\/p>\n

Joined Thursday by White House border czar Tom Homan and Anthony Coker, executive director of the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, DeSantis told a different story, saying that nearly 21,000 detainees over the course of the last year were flown out of the U.S. from Alligator Alcatraz.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s second mass detention center, a former state prison in Baker County re-dubbed \u201cDeportation Depot,\u201d remains open.<\/p>\n

Alligator Alcatraz cost Florida over $1 billion to create and operate, and a promised $608 million federal reimbursement has been slow in coming. On May 18, Florida received its first payment of $58 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Florida Phoenix reported.<\/p>\n

DeSantis on Thursday blamed a slow-moving bureaucracy for the delay, telling reporters the state recently received a FEMA reimbursement related to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the way they operate,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I know that Tom is going to help grease the skids on some of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

DeSantis\u2019 announcement followed news reports of Alligator Alcatraz\u2019s impending closure, as CBS News reported Monday that companies hired by the state to operate the facility were notified to begin a \u201cfull demobilization.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A week earlier, all detainees were reportedly moved to other facilities, which DHS said was because of concerns ahead of the coming hurricane season.<\/p>\n

In response to those reports, DeSantis consistently said he was unaware the facility would be closing, until his acknowledgement in the Thursday press conference.<\/p>\n

DeSantis has been at the forefront in backing federal immigration authorities in rounding up migrants for deportation. Last year, Florida became the first state to have most local and state law enforcement agencies sign 287(g) agreements with DHS requiring them to support immigration enforcement operations.<\/p>\n

The state also created a $250 million grant program for law enforcement agencies and jails seeking new equipment and bonuses for its officers working on immigration enforcement and detainee transport. To date, $12.3 million have been disbursed through that fund, according to Transparency Florida.<\/p>\n

That Alligator Alcatraz was opened, operated and eventually closed after thousands were deported, Coker said, \u201cmeans mission success for Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Trump\u2019s return to office, Florida makes up 40% of arrests under those agreements nationwide, DeSantis said, a figure praised by Homan as being \u201cbeyond any other state in country, by far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of those arrests, including in Central Florida, were the result of traffic stops, while the overall push to boost the number of deportations saw a surge of arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside of jails and prisons, often targeting people with no criminal convictions.<\/p>\n

In Trump\u2019s first year in office, these \u201cstreet arrests\u201d by ICE exploded by more than 1000%, while arrests of people without criminal convictions increased more than eightfold compared to July 2024, according to . That analysis was rejected by DHS, which insists immigration authorities are going after \u201cthe worst of the worst\u201d while saying the report cherry-picks data.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope more governors follow the lead of Gov. DeSantis,\u201d said Homan, who called Trump \u201cthe greatest president in my lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following reports ahead of DeSantis\u2019 announcement, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried in a statement Wednesday blasted Alligator Alcatraz as being a costly \u201ccynical political stunt\u201d and lauded activists and lawmakers who sought its closure.<\/p>\n

\u201cFloridians deserve leaders focused on the challenges families face every day\u2014lowering costs, making housing affordable, expanding access to healthcare, strengthening public schools, and safeguarding our environment\u2014not politicians who exploit human suffering and waste public dollars for political gain,\u201d Fried said.<\/p>\n

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Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday confirmed the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” is closing and is no longer housing detainees, saying the migrant detention center proved effective in helping to bolster President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts in Florida.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nAlligator Alcatraz closes as DeSantis declares victory, critics slam cost - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5371\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alligator Alcatraz closes as DeSantis declares victory, critics slam cost - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gov. 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