DeSantis Appears To Confirm Closure Of Alligator Alcatraz But Says It's Because Of Quick Deportations

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis acknowledged that detainees are being rapidly moved out of the controversial Everglades detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz," but attributed the development to federal deportations rather than the court order mandating its closure.

Speaking after emails surfaced showing that Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie expected the facility to be "down to 0 individuals within a few days," DeSantis said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was responsible for the shift and all but confirmed the facility's imminent closure.

"I think he was just referring to they're deporting them very quickly, and that's a good thing," DeSantis said, according to The Washington Post. We don't determine who goes into the facility. Who they send in or don't send in is on their decision."

DeSantis also said the "rapid removals from Alligator Alcatraz" by the Department of Homeland Security may be a result of the court ruling passed by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, which require Florida authorities to begin dismantling parts of the Alligator Alcatraz facility—including temporary fencing, lighting, and generators—within 60 days.

DHS confirmed to The Washington Post that detainees are being removed and transferred to other facilities, citing compliance with Judge Williams' ruling, while continuing to pursue deportations "at turbo speed." DHS spokesman Nathaniel Madden also took a jab at Williams, who he called an "activist judge", adding that the agency "will continue to fight tooth-and-nail to remove the worst of the worst from American streets."

At its peak in July, the temporary facility held about 1,400 people. The camp was constructed in eight days at a cost exceeding $218 million, with state records reviewed by the Associated Press showing total contracts worth more than $245 million already signed. Critics argued that the rushed project bypassed environmental safeguards and made it nearly impossible for detainees to access attorneys.

Governor DeSantis' latest comments mark a shift from the more defiant stance he struck less than a week ago, when he dismissed Judge Williams' injunction as the work of "a judge that was not going to give us a fair shake" and insisted his administration "will not be deterred" from advancing deportations.