Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday the permanent closure of the Alligator Alcatraz migrant detention facility in the Everglades, declaring its mission fulfilled after helping federal authorities deport 21,000 illegal immigrants.
The facility opened in July 2025 as a temporary solution to federal detention space shortages left by the Biden administration.
DeSantis said the facility kept criminal migrants with massive rap sheets out of Florida communities.
“This would be people, by and large, who would have been released back into society in Florida, had this space not been there.”
The governor confirmed all detainees remain in federal custody as demobilization begins. He said the mission made Florida safer and saved lives.
Immigration enforcement has been a state priority since I’ve been governor.
We stood up Alligator Alcatraz to help address the failures of the Biden administration on immigration enforcement and bolster the Trump administration’s efforts to resume interior enforcement and… pic.twitter.com/ZaDDOZeIfr
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) June 25, 2026
White House border czar Tom Homan joined DeSantis at the press conference, praising the governor’s leadership.
“Governor DeSantis did a good job, and he’s going to continue doing what he’s doing to help us make this country safe again. This isn’t the end of relationship. This is a continuation.”
Homan said Florida remains vital to federal immigration enforcement through its other operational detention facilities.
Governor DeSantis and Border Czar Tom Homan Highlight Florida’s Leadership in Immigration Enforcement https://t.co/lFRMD3HWlL
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) June 25, 2026
The Alligator Alcatraz facility was located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, deep in the Florida Everglades.
