ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida may have to repay the $218 million the state spent to convert a remote Everglades training airport into a migrant detention center nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The center could soon be completely emptied, as a judge upheld her decision Wednesday night, ordering an indefinite shutdown.
The temporary closure of the airport will immediately cost the state between $15 million and $20 million, and rebuilding it will cost an additional $15 million to $20 million if Florida is allowed to reopen, according to court documents filed by the state.
A state official stated in court documents that the Florida Department of Emergency Management would lose most of the $218 million invested to adapt the airport for use as a detention center.
Florida signed at least $405 million in vendor contracts, AP analysis shows
The facility, built in just a few days, consists of wire cages surrounding large white tents filled with rows of bunk beds.
An Associated Press analysis of public state spending data shows that Florida has signed procurement contracts totaling at least $405 million for the construction and operation of the facility, which officials initially estimated would cost $450 million annually. A previous Associated Press analysis revealed that, by the end of July, the state had already allocated at least $245 million to operate the site, which opened on July 1.
President Donald Trump visited the facility last month, suggesting it could serve as a model for future detention centers across the country as his administration works to develop the infrastructure needed to increase deportations.
The facility has been plagued by reports of unsanitary conditions and the isolation of court-ordered detainees.
Center faces several legal challenges
The center also faces several legal challenges, including one filed Wednesday evening by federal Judge Kathleen Williams. She denied requests to stay her cessation order after agreeing last week with environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe that the state and federal defendants had failed to comply with federal law requiring an environmental assessment of the detention center located in a sensitive wetland.
The Miami judge said the number of detainees was already declining and that “cessation of operations would not jeopardize the federal government’s immigration enforcement objectives.” This was despite statements by a Department of Homeland Security attorney that the judge’s order would end this application.
When questioned, DHS declined to disclose the number of remaining detainees and the number of people transferred since the temporary injunction was issued last week.
“DHS is complying with this order and transferring inmates to other facilities,” the department said in an emailed statement Thursday.
Environmental activist Jessica Namath, who monitors the situation almost constantly outside the center, said Thursday that her fellow observers have seen the removal of the metal tent structures, but no sign of the removal of the FEMA trailers or portable toilets.
“They seem to be significantly reducing their activities,” Namath added.
According to public contract data, the Associated Press estimated that the state has allocated $50 million for the restrooms. Inmates and their advocates have described toilets that don’t flush, flooding the floor with feces, though officials have denied these claims.
Facility already being emptied
The center had already been emptied of its inmates last week, according to an email exchange with The Associated Press on Wednesday. On August 22, Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said in a letter to a rabbi regarding spiritual support services: “We will likely reach zero inmates within days.”
Funding is central to the federal government’s arguments seeking to have the appeals court overturn the Williams decision.
Lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security argued in a court filing this week that federal environmental law does not apply to a state like Florida and that the federal government is not responsible for the detention center because it did not spend a single cent on its construction or operation, even though Florida is seeking a federal grant to partially fund the center.
“No final federal funding decisions have been made,” the attorneys said.
Almost two dozen Republican-led states also urged the appellate court to overturn the order. The 22 states argued in another court filing that the judge overstepped her authority and that the federal environmental laws only applied to the federal agencies, not the state of Florida.