Trump’s Alcatraz Alligator lasted less than a year and was almost useless

Inaugurated on July 1st of last year, it has been closed and work has already begun to dismantle it. Keeping it open cost 1 million dollars a day.

Presented as an excellent example of the administration’s tough on crime line under Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Alligator Alcatraz has not only been closed but work has already begun to dismantle it. The directive came just days after the Department of Homeland Security declared that all detainees had been transferred out of the center, which was inaugurated with great fanfare by the president and the governor. The reason, at least the official one provided by the authorities? “With the hurricane season approaching, ICE and the State of Florida preferred to transfer the detainees for their safety.” Facing the hurricane season (which in Florida runs from June 1 to November 30) imprisoned in canvas tents seemed an excessive risk even to ICE and DeSantis.

In reality, as reported by the New York Times, the management of the facility has cost state officials more than 1 million dollars a day, including costs for water transport and wastewater disposal. The federal government had committed to paying the State more than 600 million dollars to cover part of the costs (estimated at 1.49 billion dollars), but so far has only paid a minimal portion of that amount. This year, Florida legislators imposed new rules on the emergency fund that the State is using to cover the operational costs of the center, these rules will take effect on July 1, at the beginning of Florida’s new fiscal year. The timing of the closure of Alligator Alcatraz is therefore quite suspicious and it is reasonable to think that the issue concerns more the state budget than the safety of the detainees.

Last week, after the Department of Homeland Security declared that the detainees had been transferred elsewhere, an attorney for environmental groups – who have always fought against Alligator Alcatraz – promised to continue the lawsuit against what he called the “secret Gulag of the Everglades.” The center has been heavily criticized since its opening, for the inhumane treatment inflicted on detainees, for the unsanitary conditions of the center, and for being built specifically in a swamp (mostly a protected natural area). “They hope to sneak away in the middle of the night without explaining to anyone what they did, why they did it, or how they plan to clean up the mess they’ve made”, said attorney Paul J. Schwiep during a press conference.