“Alligator Alcatraz” left Florida less prepared for the next storm

Two new issues related to the shuttered-but-still-causing-problems Everglades detention center in the past week: First, on the human rights front, a report from the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog that detainees were held in “cramped conditions” including, on some occasions, 18-square-foot metal enclosures the size of a phone booth.

The DHS Office of Inspector General based its 33-page report on an unannounced inspection earlier this year, and found numerous other instances where conditions failed to live up to ICE standards.

How about some answers?

Seven members of Congress lashed out in a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, saying they had been deceived about the facility and demanding more information. Of note: They asked whether Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, reportedly the “mastermind” behind “Alligator Alcatraz,” “had assessed the state’s potential civil liability over its treatment of detainees.”

Second: Let’s talk about the cost.

More money, please

On September 11 the state Joint Legislative Budget Commission voted to give the state Division of Emergency Management an extra $250 million to cover “emergency” expenses — including large amounts owed to the contractors who built and maintained the Everglades detention center.

And nice timing, too, just at the peak of hurricane season and as the aforementioned strong El Niño could bring natural disasters well into winter.

What? You’re kidding, right?

Unfortunately no. The state Division of Emergency Management has already blown through $114.8 million of the $167.4 million allocated by the Legislature for the current budget year that began July 1, according to the Orlando Sentinel. But FDEM still has a huge stack of bills to pay relating to past disasters, including immigration enforcement. DeSantis declared a state of emergency on immigration in January 2023 and has renewed the declaration more than 20 times, meaning immigration enforcement takes from the same pot of money allocated for natural disasters.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that the state has already paid $630 million to the vendors who built the state’s detention facilities and carried out its immigration crackdown; but at least $1.4 billion has been promised to these vendors that hasn’t been paid, and the amount has risen in recent weeks as contracts have been amended.

Meanwhile, during the Legislative Budget Commission meeting, Rep. Allison Tant said some contractors in her Tallahassee-area district that had responded to previous storms haven’t been paid, even as FDEM is draining its coffers to pay for immigration enforcement.

Blank check, signed by you

“Alligator Alcatraz” was a fiasco from day one, and it’s still a bad joke nearly three months after being closed. The environmental damage — which might have been avoided had a federal environmental review been done ahead of time — persists. The human rights damage appears to be even worse than we thought. And the fiscal damage continues to mount.

Ultimately, how much will Floridians have to pony up for what Attorney General James Uthmeier promised would be an “efficient, low-cost” project? We won’t know until the final check is written — and as this recent reporting suggests, that could be a while.

This update is part of an advocacy series:
Everglades Unfiltered: Straight talk about water, wildlife and wild places — and the forces that impact them.