‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Immigration Jail Could Close: New York Times

The state of Florida is in talks with the Trump administration to close the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention tent camp, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The immigration jail, which last summer became a symbol of the administration’s performative cruelty toward immigrants, has been plagued by accusations of horrific conditions, medical neglect, and abuse and violence directed at detainees. Republican officials gave the hastily constructed tent camp its nickname from the surrounding alligator-filled Everglades National Park, which the administration used to threaten detainees, and the former island prison off the coast of San Francisco that was infamously difficult to escape.

It also operates in a legal gray area, as it holds federal immigration detainees but is operated by contractors hired by the state of Florida. That has made oversight by state and federal lawmakers, as well as communication with detainees’ families and lawyers, more difficult, and has kept the facility wrapped in secrecy. It became a model for other state-federal partnership immigration jails around the country.

Talks to potentially close the facility are preliminary, the Times noted, citing conversations with an unnamed federal official, someone close to the administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.

The jail — which has also been called the South Florida Detention Facility and the Everglades Detention Facility — has been considered too expensive by the Trump administration, according to the Times.

DeSantis has said he expects Florida to be reimbursed by the U.S. government for hundreds of millions of dollars it has spent to run the jail, but that reimbursement hasn’t yet occurred, the report noted.

Asked about the Times report at a press conference Thursday, after this story was published, DeSantis said the state launched the jail site because former President Joe Biden “emasculated” DHS, and that “our goal on this was for that facility to be a bridge to DHS being able to do this [themselves].”

DeSantis said Florida was continuing to work with the Trump administration and that it would be “great” if the facility could be broken down because it was no longer needed.

“It was always designed to be a temporary facility, it has made a major impact,” DeSantis said. “If we shut the lights out on it tomorrow, we’ll be able to say it served its purpose.”

Separately, the Department of Homeland Security told HuffPost in a statement: “Any reports that DHS is pressuring the state to cease operations at Alligator Alcatraz are false.”

“Florida continues to be a valuable partner in advancing President Trump’s immigration agenda, and DHS appreciates their support,” the statement continued. “DHS continuously evaluates detention needs and requirements to ensure they meet the latest operational requirements. Regarding reimbursement, DHS reviews reimbursement requests for grant funding to ensure costs are allowable and validated expenses that are eligible for reimbursement prior to releasing funding.”

The site, which is on sacred tribal land, has faced potential closure before. Last year, a federal district court ordered it to be dismantled over a violation of a federal environmental review law during its construction. But a higher court paused that decision, and a 2-to-1 appeals court majority again allowed it to remain open last month, finding that its construction did not trigger federal law. The case was sent back to the district court level.

As of last month, the jail held nearly 1,400 detainees, the vast majority of whom were classified as noncriminal, the Times noted, citing ICE data.

The Trump administration has used the cruelty of widespread immigration detention to pressure noncitizens with legal cases in immigration courts to abandon those cases and “self deport.” For thousands of people currently behind bars in immigration detention, and millions of people accused of crossing the border without authorization, the administration has taken the legal position that they can be detained for the duration of their immigration proceedings without a bond hearing — potentially months or years.