DHS says operations continue at Alligator Alcatraz despite reports facility could shut down

Nearly a year after Alligator Alcatraz opened in the Everglades, questions continue to swirl about the future of the controversial migrant detention facility.

Recent reports from The New York Times have suggested the facility could begin winding down this month, with vendors reportedly told detainees may be moved out by the start of June and the site dismantled in the weeks that follow.

But on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security told Gulf Coast News, "daily operations at Alligator Alcatraz continue as usual.”

The agency also said Immigration and Customs Enforcement makes custody decisions daily on a case-by-case basis and is working "rapidly and overtime" to move detainees from detention centers to their final destination.

Gulf Coast News spent the day outside the facility, located along the Miami-Dade and Collier County line, monitoring activity at the site.

Throughout the day, employee vehicles entered and exited the facility, and two buses commonly used to transport detainees entered the property, along with three marked ICE vehicles. Troopers remained stationed at the entrance.

Despite reports suggesting detainees could be moved out by now, there were no obvious signs from outside the facility that a large-scale shutdown or dismantling effort was underway.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly said Alligator Alcatraz was always intended to be a temporary facility, but he has not directly confirmed a closure date.

Instead, the governor has said the future of the detention center depends on the federal government.

The facility opened last summer at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport as part of Florida’s immigration enforcement efforts. State officials have said more than 22,000 people have been deported through the facility and that it costs roughly $1 million per day to operate.

The site has also faced months of criticism and legal challenges from environmental groups, immigrant rights advocates and the Miccosukee Tribe.

For now, however, Alligator Alcatraz appears to remain open.