Florida Officials Meet With Trump Administration About Everglades Immigration Detention Center

Federal and state officials are in preliminary discussions about the future of the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz. The facility, which Florida built and opened last summer on a 30-square-mile parcel outside Miami, was always intended to be temporary.

It was designed to house up to 5,000 detainees, with the state agreeing to front operating costs while seeking reimbursement from the Department of Homeland Security.

According to The New York Times, the Department of Homeland Security has concluded the facility costs more than $1 million a day to run. Officials originally projected annual operating expenses at $450 million. Leaked documents showed costs had reached $608.4 million in less than two weeks after opening.

Florida is still waiting for reimbursement of the $608 million it requested for a year’s operation. The partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that ended last week contributed to the delay in payments.

Last month the facility held 1,400 male detainees. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the facility has aided federal immigration enforcement by providing additional beds for detainees. The center was touted at launch as capable of housing, processing and deporting detainees directly from its airstrip.

It was designed as an element of expanded detention capacity to support rapid processing.

The remote location in the Everglades, initially seen as an asset for security, has contributed to high expenses because all supplies must be shipped in. A federal official told The New York Times on Thursday that talks between Florida officials and the Trump administration remain in early stages.

The official said the closure, if it occurs, is unlikely to affect the broader mass deportation campaign. The Department of Homeland Security has not yet provided the federal funding that Florida expected.

State officials have rejected accusations that the facility is unsanitary or that detainees are kept in inhumane conditions. The center has also faced accusations of environmental law violations and breaches of due process, though it has remained operational despite them. It is unclear why the Department of Homeland Security reimbursement has been delayed.