High costs and hurricanes behind shuttering of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center

Published May 9, 2026 6:00am ET | Updated May 9, 2026 2:34pm ET



Florida officials are in talks with the Trump administration about closing down “Alligator Alcatraz,” the cheeky term for a pop-up detention center for illegal immigrants in the Everglades, in the near future, the Washington Examiner has learned. 

“It is closing,” a former senior administration official with knowledge of the talks told the Washington Examiner on Friday. “Too expensive and they want it out before this hurricane season.”

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