Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' may be closing. Updates on when

• Companies hired by the State to operate the ICE detention center in the Everglades — also known as “Alligator Alcatraz” — received notification on Tuesday that the facility would shut down.
• A Florida State Representative, Anna Eskamani, a Democrat based in Orlando, also said on Tuesday that she received a text message from a member of congress that said it was closing.
• The 1,400 detainees that remain within the Everglades detention center are expected to be moved in the coming weeks.

Companies hired by the Florida government to operate the ICE detention center in the Everglades — also known as “Alligator Alcatraz” — received notification on Tuesday that the facility would shut down.

That’s according to reporting by CBS News Miami, which cites “four sources familiar with the announcement.”

Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat based in Orlando, also said on Tuesday that she received a text message from a member of Congress that stated the immigrant detention facility would close, according to the Naples Daily News and the Fort Myers News-Press. "I did contact FDEM (Florida Division of Emergency Management) for confirmation, but haven't heard back yet," she said in a voice message sent via text.

The 1,400 detainees that remain within the Everglades detention center are expected to be moved in the coming weeks, CBS News reported, with the “last detainee” leaving in June. Once the detainees have been transferred to other detention centers or deported, vendors were told the approximately two-week process to "demobilize" the Everglades site would begin, including removing fencing, trailers and other structures. The site will reopen as a small airport for pilot training.

Conditions at the facility have been described as “inhumane,” with reports emerging of torture and violations of detainees' First Amendment rights. A January investigation by the Miami Herald found the whereabouts of hundreds of detainees kept at the facility were impossible to ascertain.

Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed that the facility was always intended to be temporary during a press conference in Lakeland on May 7.

“At some point, we will, of course, break it down,” DeSantis said. “That was always the goal.”

The facility — which opened on July 3, 2025 and was built with state tax money — costs the state about $1 million per day to operate, according to the New York Times.

"As Governor DeSantis stated last week, the South Florida detention facility was always intended to serve as a temporary facility to support ongoing illegal immigration enforcement and detention operations," said Stephanie Hartman, Director of Communications for the Florida Division of Emergency Management in an email to the USA TODAY Network.

"If federal operational needs evolve and the Department of Homeland Security implements alternative plans for the South Florida detention facility, the state will pivot accordingly," Hartman continued.

Where is the Everglades detention center? Where is Ochopee, Florida?

The controversial immigrant detention center is located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport within the Florida Everglades, near Ochopee, Florida.

It is roughly 50 miles west of Miami and roughly 60 miles east of Naples.

See photos inside of 'Alligator Alcatraz' in South Florida

Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Florida Connect team. Samantha Neely is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.