TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida officials say they still have not received a formal federal shutdown plan for “Alligator Alcatraz,” even as reports indicate the controversial Everglades migrant detention site could close within weeks.
The facility opened last summer with GOP fanfare and a presidential visit, but vendors have reportedly been told to prepare for a wind down by June, with roughly 1,400 detainees moved elsewhere.
WATCH: DeSantis defends ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ as state awaits federal closure plan
Gov. Ron DeSantis defended the site Wednesday, describing it as a temporary and necessary effort to help the federal government scale up deportations.
“At the time, the federal government did not have the resources to do it,” DeSantis said during an event in Titusville. “No question that saved lives. No question it’s increased public safety, and no question it’s the right thing to do.”
DeSantis said the operation has helped remove about 22,000 people since it began. He also pushed back on criticism over the site’s cost.
“The media, they’re very concerned about the cost of detaining and deporting illegal aliens,” DeSantis said. “They never talk about the cost of having illegal immigration.”
But state officials say they have not received definitive notice from the federal government about whether the facility will close — or what that process would look like.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Wednesday the state has received no formal written communication about a shutdown.
“We have not received anything in writing,” Guthrie said. “We have received zero communication formally saying, ‘Hey, this is the path going forward. Here’s how we’re going to try to get there.’ That has not happened.”
The facility has remained a target for Democrats, who have criticized the amount of state money used to build and operate it. The total price tag has been estimated at a half-billion dollars or more, while reports have indicated the site costs about $1 million a day to operate.
“Half a billion dollars, that’s real money,” House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said. “That’s money we could reallocate to affordable housing. Those are resources we could put towards paying our teachers what we’re worth.”
DeSantis has said FEMA approved a $608 million reimbursement for Florida’s deportation operations, though he said the state has not yet received the money.
Environmental groups fighting the site in court say they will continue pressing for its closure and for damage to the Everglades to be addressed. Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples called the facility harmful to a sensitive ecosystem.
“National parks in our country have been called America’s best idea,” Samples said. “And Alligator Alcatraz sure looks like one of America’s worst ideas.”
What happens next remains unclear. But the future of the site is being watched closely in Tallahassee as lawmakers continue negotiating Florida’s next state budget.
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