Florida in Talks With Trump Admin to Shutter Notorious Swamp Pokey Alligator Alcatraz

(Alexandra Rodriguez/AP photo)

The state of Florida is reportedly in talks with the Trump administration to close the migrant detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz.

The talks began after the Department of Homeland Security deemed the facility, which opened in July 2025, too expensive to continue operating, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The detention center has cost Florida hundreds of millions of dollars to operate, The Times reported, citing current and former officials in the state government, ICE, and the office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R).

A judge ordered the facility to close back in August after a local Indian tribe and environmental group sued over environmental concerns, but the shutdown was later blocked in an appeals court ruling.

Alligator Alcatraz has also been plagued by allegations of abuse, with several detainees coming forward to describe maggot-infested food, denials of medication, and being kept “like rats in an experiment.”

Days before it opened on July 3, 2025, President Donald Trump toured the detention center, admiring the cages and fuming that former President Joe Biden wanted to put him there.

During the visit, Trump was joined by then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and DeSantis.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!