Gov. Ron DeSantis defended Friday the state agency that constructed the Alligator Alcatraz migrant detention center without fully notifying local officials.
He lauded the Florida Division of Emergency Management for not "twiddling their thumbs" and building the Everglades center in just eight days—even though local officials in Collier and Miami-Dade counties were still chasing down a "rumor" about the facility while state officials were already on the ground, the Associated Press first reported.
"My administration had a job to do and they did it," DeSantis said at a Marco Island press conference Friday morning, just an hour west of Alligator Alcatraz on the Collier-Miami-Dade border. "They didn't twiddle their thumbs...they were mission-focused.
"They didn't want to be in a situation where they were delaying—they wanted to get the job done," he added.
Alligator Alcatraz, formerly the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, lies within Big Cypress National Preserve and the western quadrant of the Everglades. Using a long-standing state of emergency declared on illegal immigration in 2023, DeSantis seized the land to transition the near-defunct airport into a temporary migrant detention facility with a 5,000-bed capacity.
The plan was concocted by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier alongside the Department of Homeland Security in June. By July 1, Florida officials had joined with President Donald Trump to celebrate the center's grand opening.
But according to emails obtained by the Associated Press, one Collier County commissioner first heard of Alligator Alcatraz from a concerned citizen. The county's planning and zoning director, Michael Bosi, was similarly "unaware" of any land use petitions for a detention camp, though acknowledged that "high level conversation" may have taken place.
On June 22, three days after Uthmeier posted a social media video pitching Alligator Alcatraz and just nine days before the grand opening event, Collier County's emergency management director, Dan Summers, discussed a "rumor" he'd heard about Alligator Alcatraz.
This included FDEM telling him that "NO mobilization or action plans are being executed at this time," Summers wrote. When he found out a day later that the agency was already on site to coordinate construction, Summers replied, "Not cool!"
This isn't the first time Alligator Alcatraz has come under fire in its 18 days of operation. Reports of heavy leaking through tents emerged on its grand opening, followed by allegations of spotty A/C, detainees' difficulties in contacting their lawyers, and a teenager being held for 3 days in the center.
Everglades conservation groups, the ACLU of Florida, and Democratic lawmakers have all filed separate lawsuits against the center for environmental, human rights, and constitutional concerns.
State officials deny all wrongdoing and have pointed out that the detention center isn't supposed to be a "Four Seasons."
On Friday, DeSantis said those arrested for being in the country illegally have a choice: have an "all expenses paid" flight back to their home country, or go to Alligator Alcatraz to await deportation.
