WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — $450 million a year. That’s how much the state says it will cost to run the undocumented migrant detention center, Alligator Alcatraz.

That’s a lot of our Florida tax dollars, and the I-Team discovered that figure might be just a ballpark, as the bill keeps growing.

Florida’s Division of Emergency Management runs Alligator Alcatraz in coordination with federal agencies, namely ICE.

Earlier this month, the facility opened, and officials say thousands of undocumented immigrants will be held here temporarily, before being flown back to their home countries.

It was smart to build the camp on an airport site.

Back in 2021, the I-Team visited the Dade-Collier Training and Transition airport to report on the original vision for the place. A throwback to Pan-Am, glamor in the sky — it was going to be the most futuristic and the biggest airport in the world.

Those plans are long gone, and now Alligator Alcatraz is up and running.

Many Florida Democrats call it a stunt, and they say it’s an expensive one.

If what Governor DeSantis says is correct, that it will cost $450 million to operate Alligator Alcatraz annually, that’s three times the amount it would cost to just keep migrants in buildings we already have, according to Florida State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith.

See Related: Alligator Alcatraz timeline: Journey of undocumented migrant facility in the Everglades

“There’s a huge financial cost to taxpayers to have a tent city on top of the Florida Everglades rather than utilizing existing detention centers,” said Guillermo-Smith. “The average cost to the State of Florida to incarcerate an individual into one of our state prisons or correctional facilities is approximately $27,000 per year, so if you just do the back of the napkin math on the cost of the Everglades camp… $450 million to taxpayers… with a maximum capacity of 5,000 individuals, you’re looking at over $90,000 a year per person.”

But Fl officials say some of that cost will be covered by FEMA, although the details on that reimbursement are scarce so far.

It’s noteworthy that Governor DeSantis signed an Executive Order to approve state spending for Alligator Alcatraz — categorized as Disaster Preparedness and Relief. That’s terminology we would expect to hear in the days before landfall or in the days after a hurricane.

And the I-Team has been asking Florida’s elected leaders, what’s the plan for Alligator Alcatraz in the event of a hurricane?

There is no cover at the facility; it is exposed to the wind, and it’s prone to flooding.

Governor DeSantis says the tent city at Alligator Alcatraz could withstand Category 1 and 2 conditions, but if it’s a Category 3, they’d likely have to evacuate detainees.

As this story goes to air, there’s no estimate for how much a large-scale evacuation of the camp would cost.

Democrat Congresswoman Lois Frankel recently told the I-Team, “Never mind moving them around, in the event of an evacuation, can we talk about keeping them there? 450 million dollars to Florida taxpayers. The Governor did this on his own, without consulting his legislature. And 450 million dollars. Let me ask you, do you think there are better places where that could be spent? I do. Alligator Alcatraz is a gimmick.”

See Related: Allegations of poor conditions at Alligator Alcatraz prompt inquiries to Florida officials

For his part, Gov. DeSantis seems amused by the criticism and dismisses the concerns. “I love how people are all like, ‘what if there’s a hurricane!’ it’s like ‘this ain’t our first rodeo.’ And there’s not one place in Florida that would be totally immune to a hurricane,” DeSantis told reporters last week.

To evacuate, the state would need buses and other places for the detainees to stay during the storm– for thousands and thousands of people.

August marks the peak of hurricane season. On Friday, we hit August 1.

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