Department of Homeland Security denies pressuring Florida to shut down Alligator Alcatraz

OCHOPEE, Fla. —

The Department of Homeland Security denied that it's pressuring Florida to shut down Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that federal officials and state leaders were having preliminary talks about closing the immigration detention center.

Florida is spending more than $1 million a day to run the facility.

Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke on Thursday in Lakeland and said if DHS wants to take the facility down, it will, but he has not received word that this is happening.

"Ultimately, our goal with this was for that facility to be a bridge to DHS, being able to do that ourselves. We're still going to cooperate," DeSantis said. "If we get people, we'll bring them to DHS, but they should be the ones, ideally, that would be able to simply hold and then repatriate to their home countries. They didn't have enough room, so we stood up that and we did the depot in North Florida."

DHS shared the following response to Gulf Coast News' inquiry regarding the New York Times' report:

"Any reports that DHS is pressuring the state to cease operations at Alligator Alcatraz are false.

"Florida continues to be a valuable partner in advancing President Trump’s immigration agenda, and DHS appreciates their support. DHS continuously evaluates detention needs and requirements to ensure they meet the latest operational requirements.

"Regarding reimbursement, DHS reviews reimbursement requests for grant funding to ensure costs are allowable and validated expenses that are eligible for reimbursement prior to releasing funding.”

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