Immigrants held at Florida's controversial "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center have been transferred to other immigration facilities, according to the Department of Homeland Security, though questions remain about whether the site has fully ceased operations.
In a statement reported by The Associated Press, DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis said detainees were moved because of hurricane-season concerns. "For the safety of the illegal alien detainees, we transferred them to other facilities," Bis said. The agency did not disclose how many people were transferred, where they were sent or whether the facility would close permanently.
The transfers come less than a year after the detention center opened on a remote airstrip in the Florida Everglades as part of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement strategy. The facility, which could hold up to 3,000 detainees, became a focal point of legal challenges and criticism over detention conditions, environmental concerns and access to legal counsel.
ICE's announcement was interpreted by some families and media outlets as confirmation that all detainees had been removed, although state and federal officials have offered conflicting accounts in recent months, The Miami Herald reported.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that he did not believe the facility had been fully emptied as of the previous day, while acknowledging it could be cleared out soon following increased federal funding for immigration detention operations.
According to the Herald, advocates who have been monitoring the facility said detainee transfers accelerated in recent weeks, with some individuals moved to South Florida detention centers and others sent to facilities outside the state. Community advocates said they had lost contact with some detainees after the transfers began.
The Herald also reported that environmental groups and watchdog organizations remain skeptical of official statements regarding the facility's status. Activists monitoring the site said they continued to observe buses, vendors, fuel deliveries and employee traffic entering and leaving the complex, leading them to question whether operations had fully stopped.
Federal and state officials had previously discussed winding down the facility, but public messaging has been inconsistent. Earlier this year, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the administration had not decided to close the site and described it as part of the government's immigration detention "surge capacity."
The transfers were announced as the Atlantic hurricane season entered its early stages and shortly after Tropical Storm Arthur became the first named storm of the 2026 season.
