DHS Denies Plan to Close 1,400-Detainee Alligator Alcatraz as Mullin Cites Disaster Risks
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · May 14
DHS Denies Plan to Close 1,400-Detainee Alligator Alcatraz as Mullin Cites Disaster Risks
5 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 14
Markwayne Mullin said DHS has no near-term plan to permanently close Florida's Alligator Alcatraz detention site, pushing back after reports that contractors were told the facility was shutting and its roughly 1,400 remaining detainees would leave within weeks.
Natural-disaster risks remain central to the dispute: Mullin said the soft-sided Everglades facility faces nearby wildfires and hurricane exposure, but argued DHS has evacuation contingencies and still needs the site as migrant 'surge capacity.'
Florida officials said they have received no formal federal notice on any closure path, even as one source said the last detainee could leave in June and operating costs have climbed to nearly $1 billion.
Mullin also said DHS is reworking detention expansion plans, shifting from warehouse conversions that can take 18 to 24 months toward county jails and shuttered local facilities that can be repaired and opened faster.
Separately, he confirmed DHS is seeking a temporary ICE leader as Acting Director Todd Lyons departs, and acknowledged the department still owes other agencies billions after a funding shortfall.
As DHS plans a $38 billion expansion, how will it address the system's record-high death toll and reports of medical neglect?
With a court order to close and costs nearing $1 billion, why is the Alligator Alcatraz facility still deemed essential?