\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWith Florida\u2019s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center in the Everglades expected to close next month, some are wondering what could happen next. \u201cWhen we opened it in the summer of 2025, it was always intended to be temporary because we were only doing it because the federal government didn’t have the resources to hold these people themselves,\u201d Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.>> Video below: Gov. DeSantis addresses reports about ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ closing in June The center has processed and deported 22,000 detainees since its opening. According to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement documents from last month, approximately 1,400 detainees remain at the facility. \u201cThey will be distributed all over the United States, and that’s something that’s not uncommon,\u201d said Wayne Golding, an immigration attorney in Orlando. \u201cOnce they get to their destination, they will get in contact with us as their attorney or their family members because, in the name of security, they will not tell you where your client is going because it is a security risk for you to know that detail.\u201d Environmental groups and some lawmakers have long called for the closure of the facility, citing high costs and federal reimbursement delays. Insiders report that the state has spent more than $1 million per day to operate the center.Florida state Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, criticized the facility in a statement Tuesday. \u201cFrom the day ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ opened, I was on the ground conducting oversight into the inhumane conditions inside this facility. Now, after wasting millions in taxpayer dollars and facing ongoing environmental lawsuits, this failed experiment in human suffering is finally closing,\u201d he said. \u201cFloridians deserve accountability for every dollar wasted and every abuse that took place behind those doors.\u201dFlorida state Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, spoke Wednesday to what she says led to recent reports of the facility’s impending closure.\u201cMy understanding based on what I was told by the members of Congress is that there was an announcement made on site to the vendors, to employees, about this closure,\u201d she said.Ericka Gomez-Tejeda, organizing director of Hope Community Center and a coordinator of the Immigrants Are Welcome Here Coalition, said her organization helps guide families to legal organizations, some of which provide pro bono counseling or representation.\u201cThis should have never have been opened to begin with. This center and this type of policy are inhumane, and we have been advocating against them since day one,\u201d she said.>> Video below: Florida considers closing ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ lawmakers react\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
With Florida\u2019s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center in the Everglades expected to close next month, some are wondering what could happen next. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we opened it in the summer of 2025, it was always intended to be temporary because we were only doing it because the federal government didn’t have the resources to hold these people themselves,\u201d Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n >> Video below: Gov. DeSantis addresses reports about ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ closing in June <\/p>\n The center has processed and deported 22,000 detainees since its opening. According to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement documents from last month, approximately 1,400 detainees remain at the facility. <\/p>\n \u201cThey will be distributed all over the United States, and that’s something that’s not uncommon,\u201d said Wayne Golding, an immigration attorney in Orlando. \u201cOnce they get to their destination, they will get in contact with us as their attorney or their family members because, in the name of security, they will not tell you where your client is going because it is a security risk for you to know that detail.\u201d <\/p>\n Environmental groups and some lawmakers have long called for the closure of the facility, citing high costs and federal reimbursement delays. Insiders report that the state has spent more than $1 million per day to operate the center.<\/p>\n