COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — It is not just immigrants, but public information that also appears to be detained within the tents of “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Most of the public information obtained about how public tax dollars are being spent at the public facility on public land comes from federal court filings and hearings.
“I think the black hole (of information) is continuing to expand,” said legal expert David Weinstein on Tuesday. “I think that, at best, ultimately someone might release information as to what the costs were that were related to the running of this facility, because they ultimately are thinking about submitting for reimbursement.”
Local 10 news captured more equipment leaving the facility on the same day the state agency that runs it took its case to pause U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams’ Aug. 21 ruling, ordering the facility’s closure within 60 days, straight to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“They received no answer on their request for a stay with Judge Williams in the District Court, and so now they’ve advanced their request up to the Court of Appeals, which is where they’ve filed their appeal, and which will review some of the same questions that have been presented in this request for a stay,” said Weinstein. “They really have three arguments that they’re keying in on. One: they’re arguing that this is a state-run facility. That while there may be reimbursement from the federal government, that it is a state-run facility, and as such, the statutes in question regarding the environmental impact study would not apply.”
Weinstein added that they “make a second argument with regard to venue, that the judge didn’t address the venue until too late in the game, and that she’s wrong about the venue issue. And then finally, they say that the plaintiffs have not met this burden of showing irreparable, immediate harm. They say that there’s no show that the effect on the environment is happening right now, but rather, their arguments are that the effect on the environment is going to happen down the road.”
The filing argues officials have yet to hear back from Judge Williams on a request to stay her order, and additional time causes immediate harm, to include incurring irrecoverable costs.
“I don’t think that there’s anything unusual about Judge Williams not ruling on their motion for stay,” said Weinstein. “I don’t think she’s going to grant it, so she’s in no hurry to issue an order denying it. That’s why they’ve now gone to the 11th Circuit. We’ll see what the 11th Circuit has to say.”
Which begs a question, how much have Floridians paid to date for the facility which began construction on June 23 and took in its first detainees July 3?
As we await an answer from the Florida Division of Emergency Management, we do know from a recent federal court hearing is that it could be upwards of $250 million, which would be more than half of the $450 million DHS estimated the facility would cost annually.
While DHS said on July 1 that it “will in large part be funded by FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program, the state told the 11th Circuit, “To date, the State has no legally enforceable right to reimbursement from the federal government for funds spent on the facility and the federal government has not, in fact, reimbursed FDEM [Florida Division of Emergency Management].”
“Certainly, public taxpayers are entitled to know how their money is being used and what’s being operated with it,” said Weinstein. “With regard to the nitty gritty as to how many people are actually housed there, what the current numbers are, what they intend to do with them, it’s a bit of a gray area, but it is an area that’s very black and white.
“To the state of Florida, this is a detention facility, and therefore numbers about how many people are there and what’s going on there is something they consider to be law enforcement sensitive. They don’t want to release those numbers, and that’s why they’re not giving any answers to anybody when they’re making their request. It’s a different First Amendment issue than the one that plaintiffs are addressing in other cases where they have no access to their own clients,” he added.
Back in February, DeSantis announced the creation of a state DOGE task force to ensure tax dollars are used in the most efficient way possible.
At a time when state DOGE members are auditing local governments, including in Broward County, Local 10 News asked the governor’s office, DERM and the Department of Financial Services if task force members plan to audit how the state is spending your money at this legally-challenged facility, but have yet to hear back as of the time of this story’s publication.
We also don’t know how many detainees are currently on site.
In their filing to the 11th Circuit, officials said since July 3 they have detained “thousands” there.
During a federal court hearing, we learned the majority of those detainees did not have prior criminal records, and a new lawsuit alleges that they are out of step with ICE detention standards.
Plaintiffs say “detained individuals who enter the facility disappear from ICE’s online detainee locator,” making it hard for their lawyers and families to find them.
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
