“Alligator Alcatraz,” the remote Florida immigration detention center that faced harsh criticism for its conditions, has shut down nearly a year after opening, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.
DeSantis said the center at an isolated airstrip in the Everglades was always meant to be only temporary until more permanent detention centers could be secured and federal officials now have that capacity.
“It served its purpose for the time,” the Republican
governor said at a news conference.
Officials announced a temporary closure of the facility earlier in June and sent all of the detainees to other facilities, saying hurricane season made it unsafe to keep them in the Everglades.
Immigration advocates said the tents were never safe or humane for holding people. Detainees at the facility have talked about their difficulty accessing lawyers and described poor physical conditions, including worms in the food, toilets that didn’t flush, floors flooded with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere.
The detention center was built by DeSantis’ administration in a matter of days in 2025. DeSantis and President Donald Trump said the detention center was critical to Republican efforts to return people in the country illegally back to their home countries.
“There is no question this mission has made the state of Florida safer," said DeSantis, noting that 21,000 people were deported through the facility.
Lawyers for the immigrants at the facility said their clients suddenly started leaving for other facilities in South Florida, California, Arizona, Louisiana and Texas earlier this month, disappearing for about a week before their attorneys and families were told where they were sent.
Advocates for immigrants said closing “Alligator Alcatraz” does nothing to stop the harm of people who spend months in custody as their families suffer.
The Florida Immigrant Coalition said the only winners were corporations and contractors who profited millions of dollars as Republicans pushed an immigration emergency that does not exist.
DeSantis said the airstrip in the Everglades the facility was built around will continue to be used.
