Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to Permanently Close, Gov. DeSantis Says

State officials estimate about 20,000 criminal illegal immigrants were processed through the facility since it opened last year.

Trucks come and go from the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades in Collier County, Fla, on Aug. 28, 2025. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File

Florida permanently closed the temporary illegal immigrant holding center “Alligator Alcatraz” June 25 after transferring federal detainees to other facilities, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced.

“Alligator Alcatraz now has zero detainees,” DeSantis told reporters at a press conference outside the facility at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Florida Everglades, about 50 miles west of Miami.