Posted on 06/22/2026 4:41:05 PM PDT by Red Badger
Companies hired by the state to operate the Florida immigration facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz" were notified Monday morning to begin "full demobilization" of the facility, quietly bringing an ignominious close a $1.2 billion experiment that had once been hailed by Governor Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump as a model other states should pursue, four sources familiar with the operations of the detention center told CBS News Miami.
"All vendors got the notice," one source explained.
Alligator Alcatraz as seen from above.
The announcement was made by Kevin Guthrie, Florida's Emergency Management director, during a morning conference call with the vendors.
Guthrie told the vendors that he expected "significant progress by Wednesday" on clearing the site, according to one source.
Inside Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" The final few detainees left the facility last week, either being transferred to other detention centers or deported to third countries.
Federal and state officials at the time said it was due to safety concerns over the start of hurricane season.
They even suggested the facility would remain ready to take on new detainees.
In fact, officials familiar with the plan told CBS News Miami that it was always the intention to begin full demobilization by taking down fencing and removing trailers and other structures built at the site located in the middle of the Florida Everglades.
Each vendor at Alligator Alcatraz has a "demobilization" clause built into their contract. By invoking that clause, the state has triggered two key components to those contracts.
First, it allows the companies to charge the state a "demobilization fee" that will likely run into tens of millions of dollars. And second, it marks the end of each company's involvement with the facility.
For most of the companies it was welcome news, as many are owed millions of dollars.
That demobilization effort is expected to take approximately one week, and once it is completed, the site is expected to eventually reopen as a small airport used to train pilots.
The decision to close the facility has been speculated for the past two months, with even DeSantis saying he expected it to close soon.
"If we shut the lights out tomorrow, we will be able to say it served its purpose," DeSantis said earlier this month during a press conference.
DeSantis recently said upwards of 22,000 individuals were cycled through Alligator Alcatraz.
Conditions at the detention center have been harshly criticized by lawyers, families and human rights groups, who claimed detainees were routinely mistreated.
Amnesty International issued a highly critical report on conditions inside the facility.
Ultimately, though, the decision to close Alligator Alcatraz was due primarily to the escalating cost of operating the facility. The total cost for the detention center is now estimated to be $1.2 billion.
Opened on July 3, 2025, during last year's hurricane season, the detention center was the brainchild of DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and built using state tax money.
At the time, DeSantis maintained that the state would be reimbursed by the federal government for all of its expenses.
However, that funding has yet to come through.State officials submitted a $608 million request at the end of last year.
It was eventually approved by federal officials, but the actual reimbursement has been held up because of court challenges, environmental concerns and other issues.
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CBS propaganda. I’m sure it’s just no longer used.
22,000 was only a small percentage of the illegals that invaded our country.
The cost might have been because the soft treatment given the criminals was too soft!
Shortage of clientele no doubt.
When’s the last time deportations made the news??
Okay! Are they just going to drop the detainees straight into the swamp? Gators gotta eat. It would be a shame to starve a patriotic gator. IMO
Detaining centers like this are being closed. My assumption is that there is more direct deportation right away to other countries that we have agreements with?
Billion?
[Pretty soon we’re talkin’ real money.....]
Yes, the U.S. has significantly expanded direct third-country deportations, sending individuals to nations other than their own often with little to no advance notice and sometimes before they can challenge the removal. Since February 2025, the Trump administration has concluded agreements with more than 30 countries to accept these removals, including nations in Africa, the Americas, and Europe.
Direct removal procedures frequently bypass standard legal safeguards. Reports indicate that some individuals are not told their destination until they are on the plane, while others face expedited removal within a single day without an immigration court hearing. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that approximately 15,000 people were removed to third countries in 2025 alone, with the vast majority sent to Mexico.
Financial and political incentives drive many of these agreements, with the U.S. paying at least $44 million directly to third-country governments to accept deportees. Specific deals include $7.5 million to Rwanda and $5.1 million to Eswatini in exchange for accepting migrants. Critics and human rights organizations argue these practices violate due process and the principle of non-refoulement, as many receiving countries lack safe asylum systems or have poor human rights records.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.
That might explain why self deportations are up.
Estimated Undocumented Migrants
11,700,000
That’s a lie right up front.
Try 4 times that....................
Sure seems like a lot of money is being spent and wasted. What is the cost so far per alien finally deported?
We won’t know that for at least a year.................
They should wait. We’re going to need it for all the knuckledragging illegal aliens who tells the gringos to get ****** and go ahead and dare to vote in an American election. Support ICE AND CBP. They’ll be rounding the illegal aliens up.
Go ICE!!!! HAVE AN ICE DAY!
The place was just too much for the little cowardly wetbacks. They couldn’t take the heat. All they can do is murder gringos.
Does this mean there will be a run on Alligator Alcatraz memorabilia? I better rush out and get my “Welcome to Alligator Alcatraz” t-shirt before they’re all gone.
Assuming there are 20 million illegals in America, at this rate it will take just 169 years to remove all of them.
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