Florida Plans to Close ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ Vendors Are Reportedly Told
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- Florida plans to shut down the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center in the Everglades, which it opened last summer, according to a federal official and sources familiar with the facility.
- Vendors were informed that detainees would be relocated by early June and the center would be dismantled in the following weeks; the facility held about 1,400 detainees as of last month.
- The closure follows reports that Florida and the Trump administration were discussing shutting down the costly center, with Gov. Ron DeSantis confirming such discussions after media coverage.
- The future location for the detainees remains unclear, though the federal government operates other detention centers, including some in Florida.
- The Florida Division of Emergency Management and DeSantis’s office did not comment, while the Department of Homeland Security stated it regularly evaluates detention needs to meet operational requirements.