OCHOPEE, Fla. (CBS12) — “Alligator Alcatraz” may be closing its doors, according to a Thursday report from The New York Times.
The outlet reports that Florida is in talks with the Trump administration to shut down the detention center, citing that the facility has cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars to operate.
According to the Times, discussions about closing the immigration detention site in the Everglades remain preliminary. However, it states that officials with the Department of Homeland Security believe the facility is too expensive to operate and may be ineffective.
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The report also states that the DeSantis administration has been spending more than $1 million per day to run the center in the remote Everglades area between Miami and Naples, while some private contractors hired by the state have struggled to cover operating costs.
On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Lakeland at Florida Polytechnic University, where he briefly addressed the facility, saying it was never meant to be permanent.
“If we shut the lights out on it tomorrow, we will be able to say it served its purpose because it was responsible for helping with almost 22,000 illegal aliens. And that ultimately is what it’s all about,” DeSantis said.
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He reiterated that point adding, “All the expenses are reimbursable by the federal government and that will happen.”