Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced the closure of the 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration detention center in the Everglades, a makeshift facility praised by the Trump administration and denounced as inhumane by civil rights groups. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
DeSantis said the center was always meant to be temporary until more permanent detention centers could be secured, and federal officials now have that capacity. 'We stepped up because there was a gap, but my hope is that they'll be able to handle that,' the Republican governor said at a news conference at the facility.
Officials announced a temporary closure of the facility earlier in June and sent all detainees to other facilities, citing hurricane season making it unsafe to keep them in the Everglades.
Immigration advocates said the tents were never safe or humane. Detainees reported difficulty accessing lawyers and described poor conditions, including worms in food, non-flushing toilets, floors flooded with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere.
They described large white tents with rows of bunk beds surrounded by chain-link cages. The air conditioning could shut off abruptly in the sweltering Florida heat. Detainees could go days without showering or getting prescription medicine.
The Florida Immigrant Coalition said the closure does nothing to stop the harm to people who spend months in custody, and the only winners were corporations and contractors who profited millions as Republicans pushed an immigration emergency that does not exist.
The detention center of tents and trailers was built by DeSantis' administration in a matter of days, opening during hurricane season in July 2025. DeSantis and President Donald Trump said the center was critical to Republican efforts to return people in the country illegally to their home countries.
'There is no question this mission has made the state of Florida safer,' said DeSantis, noting that 21,000 people were deported through the facility.
Even with the closure, Florida continues to play a key role with other detention centers and increased immigration enforcement, said White House border czar Tom Homan. 'Gov. DeSantis did a good job and he's going to continue doing what he's doing to help us make this country safe again,' Homan said.
Lawyers for the immigrants said their clients suddenly started leaving for other facilities in South Florida, California, Arizona, Louisiana and Texas earlier this month, disappearing for about a week before their attorneys and families were told where they were sent.
DeSantis said the Everglades airstrip around which the facility was built will continue to be used. Environmental groups sued over the detention center, saying Florida officials never got the proper permits or did required reviews on its impact.
'The administration believes it can quietly walk away and leave its mess for others to clean up. The law will not allow them to escape accountability. We will ask the courts to ensure that the environmental damage is fully remedied,' said Paul J. Schwiep, an attorney for Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.