DeSantis Discusses Future of Detention Center

DeSantis Discusses Future of Detention Center

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida Responding to a New York Times report, Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged officials have discussed closing the detention center the state calls Alligator Alcatraz. “It was always designed to be a temporary facility, and has made a major impact,” DeSantis said while in Lakeland on Thursday. “And if we shut the lights out on it tomorrow, we will be able to say it served its purpose, because it was responsible…

DeSantis’s Quiet Retreat , Why Florida is Reconsidering its Most Controversial ICE Policy

When Florida opened its Everglades prison in 2025, there were a lot of talking points. Officials dubbed it “Alligator Alcatraz,” embraced the imagery, and portrayed the project as an example of what a state-run immigration enforcement system may resemble in the second Trump administration. The discourse has subtly changed by the beginning of 2026. The same officials who used to pose for pictures along the remote access roads are now debating whe…