‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center May Be Empty Within Days

New York Times ^ | Aug. 27, 2025 | Patricia Mazzei

[Miami Rebel]

The number of people being held at an immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades has decreased sharply and may soon be down to zero, despite the state’s recent insistence that the 2,000 beds at the facility were desperately needed as part of President Trump’s crackdown on unauthorized immigrants.

Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, wrote in an email on Friday that the detention center, known as Alligator Alcatraz, was “probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days.”

The email, obtained by The New York Times, was sent to the office of a South Florida rabbi in response to interfaith leaders who had asked whether they could minister to detainees inside the remote center.

The state has repeatedly declined to say how many detainees it was housing at the center, which opened in early July at a remote airfield. Roughly 900 people were being held there by mid-July, according to members of Congress who visited. More than a month later, the email is the first evidence that the center is not operating at or near capacity. It comes six days after a federal judge ordered that the facility be shut down.

Rabbi Mario Rojzman of the Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, a synagogue in North Miami Beach, did not share the email with The Times, but he confirmed its authenticity. He said in a statement that Mr. Guthrie was responding to a request from him and from other members of an interfaith clergy group working with Miami People Acting for Community Together, a nonprofit organization.

---

TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: alcatraz

[Da Coyote]

‘Twould be prudent to await a trustable news source than wasting time on the kiddy pretend journalists at the NYT.

[Miami Rebel]

Google “alligator alcatraz.” I see 6 stories from different sources on the first page.

T’would be easy.

[b4me]

Mr tippytoes wasted more tax payer dollars for a few minutes of positive press.

[21twelve]

It probably isn’t the case, but building this facility and it getting a lot of press about how evil and terrible it is, may have led to many illegals leaving on their own, or at least being on their best behavior for now.

[metmom]

Once all the illegals are gone it will be.

Bring it.

[mass55th]

Just making room for more incoming.

[Does so]

UGANDA would be better...

[spintreebob]

To be in the US is a Privilege, not a Right. Removing one from the US removes their Privilege. Not Rights are touched.

But the longer a person is in a detention center prior to removal of the privilege, the more it is possible that Rights become involved.

If they are to be removed, remove them...Don’t “hold” them.

[frank ballenger]

And a lot of alligators will look fat?

Naw. Just leaving the place due to a little judge.

[jdsteel]

It is a HOLDING center.

That it may be empty soon is good.

That more will come in is better.

[FlingWingFlyer]

That land is going to be wasted if not used. We need to lock up the envirofreaks at the center there. Make them kill a certain number of mosquitos daily. I’d like to know where the hell the fag/skank judge got the authority to close it down. The is not of the maggots in black robes business.

[Miami Rebel]

It was a publicity stunt from the get-go.

The Everglades is a wetland under siege from development. There’s no economic use to it except for expanding urban sprawl, and everything there had to be built from scratch, including water and sewage and landfill.

Building more detention space would have been doable at a fraction of the cost anywhere else in the state of Florida, and in fact DeSantis announced just today another “Deportation Depot” at an already-existing correction facility just out side of Jacksonville.

[BatGuano]

Yes, indeed, “consider the source, always!”
One of my dear Father’s favorite sayings.
(Especially the New York Times.)
Not “trustable” at all, ever!