The highly controversial tent detention facility for immigrants in Florida, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” will shut down, according to The New York Times, though the Department of Homeland Security has publicly denied seeking immediate closure of the site.
This comes after the state-run facility, which has been plagued with problems ranging from insect infestations to flooding risk, was found to be in severe financial difficulties, with DHS finding it too expensive to keep funding.
“Vendors were told that detainees would be moved from the facility by the start of June and that the center would be broken down over the following weeks, the three people said. The three people and the federal official all requested anonymity to discuss the closure, which has not yet been made public,” said the report. “It is unclear where the detainees would go; the federal government runs many other detention centers, including in Florida. The Everglades center, which is run by the state, held about 1,400 detainees as of last month, according to ICE data.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has boasted that the facility, which reportedly costs $1 million a day to operate, takes the relief off the Trump administration and houses the “worst of the worst.” However, reporting has shown that detainees have included DACA recipients, people with no criminal record, and individuals sent there after minor traffic stops. A Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times analysis found that over 250 detainees were being held solely on immigration violations with no criminal convictions or pending charges in the U.S.
The financial problems became clear in February, when federal officials put heavy restrictions on a $608 million disaster relief grant that DeSantis had been banking on to keep the operation afloat.
“When asked about the center’s future on Monday, Mr. DeSantis did not suggest that a decision was imminent. Speaking to reporters in Fort Myers, Fla., he said that federal officials had not told him they wanted it shut down. But he added that if the federal government stopped sending detainees to the center, the state would not keep it open,” said the report. “Mr. DeSantis suggested that a second state-run detention center, west of Jacksonville, would remain open even if the Everglades center were to close, and cautioned fellow Republicans not to abandon their aggressive position on immigration enforcement ahead of November’s midterm elections.”
“I think it would be a big problem politically to walk away from the deportation mission,” DeSantis warned fellow Republicans.
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