A controversial state-run immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” could be empty within days, according to emails obtained by the Associated Press. Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie wrote that detainee numbers were dropping rapidly, suggesting chaplaincy services would no longer be needed.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said the decline was tied to an increase in deportations by the Department of Homeland Security, though federal attorneys argued Florida alone controls detention at the site. The center, built in just two months, was designed to hold 3,000 detainees as part of Donald Trump’s deportation push. At its peak, nearly 1,000 people were held there, but recent tours reported only 300–350 remained.
Last week, a federal judge ordered the facility to close within 60 days, siding with environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe who argued the center endangered sensitive wetlands and violated federal environmental laws. The state appealed, and the federal government sought to delay the order, claiming Florida detention space is already overcrowded.
Civil rights lawsuits also alleged “severe problems” at the center, including detainees held without charges, missing from ICE’s locator system, and denied custody reviews. Others described unsanitary conditions such as worms in food, broken toilets, and flooding floors.
Florida has already spent more than $245 million on construction and operations since the site opened July 1. DeSantis has also promoted a second facility in North Florida, calling it “Deportation Depot.”
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