Florida\u2019s controversial immigration detention center in the Everglades, known as Alligator Alcatraz, could shut down as early as next month, according to the latest news reports.<\/p>\n
Vendors were reportedly told Tuesday that the facility would \u201cbe broken down\u201d starting in June, according to the New York Times<\/a>. CBS News Miami reported <\/a>similar news of a pending shutdown.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear where the existing detainees would end up. Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, who visited the facility last month, said that nearly 1,500 detainees are housed under “inhumane” conditions.<\/a><\/p>\n It opened last July in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 50 miles west of Miami, and has already cost Florida taxpayers at least $640 million. <\/p>\n Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly claimed taxpayers would be reimbursed by the federal government but that has yet to happen.<\/p>\n READ MORE: DeSantis confirms ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ may shut down sooner than expected<\/a><\/p>\n Since opening last summer, the immigration detention center has attracted complaints of harsh treatment of detainees, harmful environmental impacts and an ongoing U.S. Senate investigation into torture allegations<\/a>.<\/p>\n WLRN spoke with one Cuban man<\/a> who said he was chained from hand to foot at the facility, when he wasn\u2019t held in cells he described as \u201cmonkey cages\u201d with other detainees.<\/p>\n