COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — Florida is planning to close Alligator Alcatraz, according to a report from the New York Times.

Alligator Alcatraz was opened during the summer of 2025 in the heart of the Florida Everglades, built on the tarmac and land surrounding the massive Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.

The center has reportedly cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to the NYT report, officials at the Department of Homeland Security have concluded that it is too expensive to keep operating the detention center.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has been spending more than $1 million per day to run Alligator Alcatraz.

Per the report, vendors who service the center were told that detainees would be moved from the facility by the start of June, and that the center would be broken down over the following weeks.

As of last month, the center held nearly 1,400 detainees, all of whom are men, according to data from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

DeSantis has said from the start that the federal government would pay for the facility but Florida has yet to receive the $608 million federal reimbursement to run the center over the past year.

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