Florida taxpayers may be on the hook for Alligator Alcatraz construction bill
When the DeSantis administration swiftly built Alligator Alcatraz last summer, it said the federal government would foot the bill for the state’s Everglades immigration detention camp. But the Trump administration may now be reconsidering that commitment, signaling in court that Florida taxpayers could be on the hook for the cost of the facility’s construction
In a court filing on Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, lawyers with the Department of Justice said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had not yet decided whether to reimburse the state.
Pointing to FEMA’s grant program guidance documents, they also hinted that FEMA might not approve all the costs submitted by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which oversees Alligator Alcatraz’s operations.
“Crucially, the documents show that FEMA may not reimburse FDEM for construction costs,” the lawyers wrote. “And may ultimately disallow the requested costs altogether.”
The representations — made as part of the federal government’s defense in a case brought by the environmental group Friends of the Everglades — shed new light on why Florida’s state government has yet to receive a penny of the more than $600 million in funding awarded during the fall by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The DeSantis administration revealed this week for the first time that it had spent $573 million in emergency funds on immigration enforcement, including the Alligator Alcatraz detention center. In a report required by the Florida Legislature, the administration also explained that it had yet to receive any of the $608 million it said the federal government had committed to the governor’s immigration crackdown.
This week, Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie added another layer to the funding saga, telling reporters that FEMA had informed his state agency that payments were being held up by the Department of Justice for undisclosed reasons.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration lawyers had pointed out that the reimbursement from the grant program was not specific to any particular state-run detention facility and was to be disbursed based on the cost per detainee.
They said the projects for the fund were “programmatic” in scope, “not specific to any facility,” and “not for construction.”
The lawyers also pointed out that the federal agency had requested that the Florida Division of Emergency Management submit a revised budget in September and had placed the funding on hold.
Also in September, when FEMA initially awarded Florida’s request for the full amount of its Detention Support Grant Program - intended to support immigration detention carried out by states and local governments - the agency informed the DeSantis administration that its submitted budget exceeded available funding that year.
FEMA asked the state to provide a revised budget based on the cost per detainee.
In Tuesday’s filing, the federal agency lawyers again emphasized “that reimbursement for construction is not available.”
The Florida Division of Emergency Management did not respond Friday to requests for comment.
The filings add further doubt on whether Florida taxpayers would ever get a full refund from the federal government for the DeSantis administration’s expanded crackdown on immigration, which has included the construction of the first-of-its-kind detention facility deep in the Everglades. Contracts show the cost to erect the site topped $100 million.
In June, when the state transformed the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport airstrip in the middle of Big Cypress National Preserve, FEMA had estimated that each detainee bed would cost $245 per day, for a total of $450 annually. Gov. Ron DeSantis had said the federal government would cover the price tag.
Tuesday’s filing was part of the federal government’s counter-motion to supplement certain records in the appeals case by Friends of the Everglades. The environmental group has argued that the exchange of funds between the state and federal governments is the trigger that would subject the Everglades detention center to environmental impact assessment regulations.
“The existence of a state application is only a preliminary step towards a final federal funding decision,” the filing said. “FEMA has not made that ultimate decision even now.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 7:04 PM.