New records show Florida officials burned more than $1.2 million per day on 'Alligator Alcatraz'

"In an application signed Aug. 7, 2025, the Florida Division of Emergency Management - the state agency that spearheaded the construction and operation of the site - formally requested a $1.49 billion grant from the federal government, underscoring the staggering scale of spending of taxpayer dollars on federal immigration enforcement - largely out of public view and with little oversight by state lawmakers."

"The documents show the state was spending more than $1 million per day to run the facility, with the "daily burn" rate topping $3 million a day during its earliest weeks."

"For months, FDEM had refused to hand over the documents in compliance with the state's public records law, once considered a national model for open government but now routinely undermined by state agencies under the DeSantis administration."

Florida's Division of Emergency Management sought a $1.49 billion federal grant for an immigration detention facility in the Everglades, known as Alligator Alcatraz. Internal documents released by court order reveal the state spent more than $1 million daily to operate the facility, with costs reaching $3 million per day during initial weeks. The DeSantis administration constructed and operated this makeshift detention center using tents and trailers with limited public visibility and legislative oversight. State agencies under DeSantis have routinely resisted public records disclosure, undermining Florida's historically strong transparency laws. The facility's funding comes from an emergency fund that allows rapid spending without typical legislative constraints, and lawmakers are currently considering reauthorizing this multibillion-dollar fund.

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