The controversial immigration detention site nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” is about to be cleared out. Internal state emails reviewed by the Associated Press show that the last detainees could be gone within days.
In one exchange, Kevin Guthrie, who heads Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, wrote, “We are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days.” Guthrie’s message came during a back-and-forth with South Florida Rabbi Mario Rojzman about chaplain services at the site.
The timing lines up with a federal judge’s recent order directing the state to start dismantling the facility. The decision marks another twist for a project that sparked intense criticism almost from the moment it opened.
Officially called the South Florida Detention Facility, the compound was built in just eight days this summer on an airstrip in the Everglades. It quickly earned the nickname Alligator Alcatraz from critics who called it everything from an “internment camp” to an “oversized kennel.”
The price tag was staggering. The makeshift prison cost an estimated $245 million in taxpayer money to build. Governor Ron DeSantis originally pitched it as a place that could eventually house up to 4,000 people awaiting deportation.
But the reality has fallen far short of that. Since opening on July 1, the facility never came close to reaching its capacity. In fact, it hasn’t even hit 1,000 detainees at any point. Last week, Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida toured the site and said only about 300 to 350 people were still being held there.
The emptiness has only fueled critics who say the whole operation was unnecessary, expensive, and inhumane. With the court’s dismantling order now in place and Guthrie’s email suggesting detainees are already being moved out, the facility’s short and turbulent existence looks close to ending.
The idea of Alligator Alcatraz was controversial from the start. Supporters framed it as a quick solution for housing migrants set for deportation, but opponents blasted it as a costly stunt that prioritized political optics over real solutions. Now, just two months later, it appears the critics may have been right.
The state has not commented on where the remaining detainees will be sent or what will happen to the massive structure once it is dismantled. For now, what’s clear is that the detention center that was meant to symbolize toughness on immigration is heading toward an unceremonious shutdown.