Florida officials say Alligator Alcatraz will be demobilized as federal capacity increases

Governor Ron DeSantis said at an event at the Alligator Alcatraz facility that the site has been demobilized and now holds "zero detainees," and that the state stood the facility up in 2024 to provide temporary processing capacity while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lacked space. "We stood this up. We surged critical resources. We built critical infrastructure," DeSantis said, adding that the facility helped remove "almost 21,000" people who otherwise would have been released locally.

The governor framed the effort as an emergency measure to protect public safety and taxpayers, saying Florida also maintains 287(g) agreements with federal partners that expand joint enforcement. "We have 80% more 287(g) agreements in Florida than any other state," he said, arguing that those partnerships and the Alligator Alcatraz capacity together have reduced public-safety risks.

Tom Homan, who spoke after DeSantis, praised the cooperation between the governor and the Trump administration and criticized what he described as prior policies that "released" migrants. "Millions of illegal aliens were released in the United States, in my opinion, illegally by the last administration," Homan said, and he reiterated Floridas share of 287(g) arrests.

Anthony Coker, who identified himself as director of immigration enforcement for the state of Florida, said facilities like Alligator Alcatraz are intended to "securely and humanely house" individuals during removal proceedings and credited interagency cooperation. "Facilities like this play an important role by ensuring that individuals awaiting immigration proceedings can be securely and humanely housed while going through removal proceedings," Coker said.

Reporters asked whether Florida will be reimbursed for the facilitys costs. DeSantis said reimbursement was expected and pointed to prior FEMA reimbursements for other work, but acknowledged federal bureaucracy can delay payments. He repeatedly described Alligator Alcatraz as temporary and said the state retained other facilities, including a separate Baker County site, for related operations.

On land use, DeSantis said he had no specific plan to return the strip to county control or the National Park Service and noted that state officials had taken steps while the facility operated to contain waste and reduce environmental runoff. He said Everglades-restoration work continues elsewhere in the state and that removing the sites concrete would not necessarily advance restoration in a cost-effective way.

DeSantis and the two officials framed the demobilization as a transition driven by DHSs expanded ability to process individuals; they said detainees remain in federal custody while the state breaks down the facility. The state did not announce a formal transfer of the property or a final re-use plan at the event.

The event included extended lists of alleged criminal histories for individuals who passed through the site; speakers used those examples to underscore the security rationale for temporary detention and staging. Officials did not provide independent documentation at the event to verify each case cited and described some numeric totals as estimates.