Court Filings Show Florida Taxpayers Could Be Left Covering $1.5B 'Alligator Alcatraz' Project

Court filings indicate that Florida taxpayers could ultimately be responsible for up to $1.5 billion spent on a large immigration detention facility in the Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz," after federal reimbursement funds expected by the state failed to materialize.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in early October that the federal government had awarded Florida $608 million to help offset the cost of the project. "We were right; media was wrong," he wrote on social media, responding to reports that questioned whether the federal government would reimburse the state.

Within days, however, federal officials froze the funding while requesting additional documentation on the state's expenses.

Five months later, Florida has received about $90 million, while the remaining funds remain uncertain and may never be disbursed, according to court records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. Documents show the DeSantis administration initially committed nearly $1.5 billion in state funds to construct and operate the facility, expecting reimbursement through a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program.

Federal officials later determined that FEMA funding could cover operational costs tied to detainees but not the construction or development of the facility itself. "As it likely will be structured, there will be no potential federal funding of the facility's design, siting, maintenance, or construction," said Adam Gustafsom, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's environmental and natural resources division.

The Justice Department also signaled in court filings that FEMA could reject some or all of Florida's reimbursement request under the grant program rules, as The Guardian points out.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier acknowledged the risk in court filings tied to an ongoing lawsuit over the detention center. "[Florida] took the risk (and still does) that federal funding will not materialize," the filing states.

The 158,000-square-foot detention complex was built in less than a week under an emergency order on a little-used jetport in Miami-Dade County. The facility can hold up to 3,000 detainees and is used to expedite deportations tied to federal immigration enforcement.

State officials estimated that operating the facility initially cost about $3,400 per detainee per day during the first months of operation, far higher than the national average of roughly $187 per detainee reported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Environmental groups and civil rights organizations have challenged the project in court, arguing it was constructed without the environmental review required under federal law. "These files illustrate a staggering waste of taxpayer dollars," said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades.

The detention center remains open while litigation over the project continues.

Originally published on Latin Times