Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' Immigration Detention Center Closes Amid Criticism

Florida's controversial "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center has shut down, Governor Ron DeSantis announced Thursday. The remote facility, located at an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, operated for nearly a year and faced significant criticism regarding its conditions.

DeSantis stated the center was always meant to be a temporary solution until federal officials could secure more permanent detention facilities. "It served its purpose for the time," the Republican governor said at a news conference, noting that federal officials now have adequate capacity. Earlier in June, officials had announced a temporary closure, transferring all detainees to other facilities, citing hurricane season as a safety concern for the Everglades location.

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It served its purpose for the time.

Immigration advocates, however, have consistently argued that the facility, which housed detainees in tents, was never safe or humane. Detainees reported difficulties accessing lawyers and described severe physical conditions, including contaminated food, non-functional toilets, flooded floors, and pervasive insects. The Florida Immigrant Coalition criticized the closure, asserting it does little to address the harm caused to individuals detained for months and their suffering families.

Governor DeSantis highlighted the facility's role in his administration's immigration enforcement efforts, stating that 21,000 people were deported through the center. He asserted that the mission had made Florida safer. Lawyers representing immigrants reported that their clients were moved to various facilities across the country without immediate notification. The airstrip in the Everglades where the center was located will continue to be utilized.

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There is no question this mission has made the state of Florida safer.