Inmates from Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz transferred elsewhere as detention center likely to be closed, ICE says | Today’s news

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said Tuesday (local time) that detainees at the Florida detention center, also known as “Alcatraz,” have been moved to other facilities.

The development comes as the US prepares for hurricane season, NBC News reported. In a statement, ICE said, “As we enter hurricane season, ICE and the State of Florida have moved illegal aliens from this facility. For the safety of illegal alien detainees, we have moved them to other facilities.” However, the statement did not say how many were detained or where they were being taken.

The Florida detention facility was opened last July by the administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to support the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

Florida Governor at Alligator Alcatraz facility

Asked about the facility at a press conference Tuesday, DeSantis said, “The state doesn’t send people there. It’s DHS that sends them there. And if DHS stops sending them there, then of course we’re not going to be there. It was never meant to be permanent.” He added: “I don’t think it’s empty now, at least as of yesterday when I was informed, but they’ve put tens, hundreds of billions of dollars into this agency.”

DeSantis said the facility was always intended to be a temporary detention center and that the federal government is reimbursing the state for more than $600 million in facility costs. “I think when we did it, we thought it would be six months to a year in terms of necessity,” he said Tuesday.

The Alcatraz alligator faces intense scrutiny

The Alligator Alcatraz facility is located on a remote airstrip in the Big Cypress National Preserve and has been the subject of several lawsuits and complaints about the conditions inside.

In early April, a federal appeals court ruled to keep the detention facility open for now, blocking a lower court’s order to shut down operations after finding it did not comply with federal environmental laws. A majority of a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the facility operated in Florida is not subject to federal oversight and therefore does not have to undergo an environmental impact assessment, which is mandated by federal law.

However, there were some reports last month that suggested the facility’s closure could be as early as June.

Arrests of immigrants in Florida have skyrocketed

The number of immigration detentions in Florida has skyrocketed during President Donald Trump’s second term and often attracts little public attention because many begin with routine traffic stops. Public support for law enforcement efforts appears to be growing, while state and local agencies involved in the operations have consistently denied requests for arrest records and body camera footage, citing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidelines.

More than 39,000 immigrants were arrested in Florida in the 416 days from Jan. 20, 2025 — the day Trump began his second term in office — to March 11, the AP news agency reported, citing the data. During the previous 416 days of Joe Biden’s administration, 11,088 people were arrested in the Sunshine State. On average, Florida has now seen 93 arrests per day, trailing only Texas, which shares the nation’s longest border with Mexico, at 239 arrests per day.