The state of Florida has asked the federal government to reimburse it for the costs of its "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention camp, despite a recent appeals court ruling that receiving federal funds would trigger environmental reviews that the state ignored when it hastily built the camp.
"The State of Florida submitted an application for reimbursement to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)," a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson says. "FEMA has roughly $625 million in Shelter and Services Program funds that can be allocated for this effort."
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit lifted a lower court's preliminary injunction shutting down the Everglades detention camp, allowing operations there to resume. It was a victory for Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, but it also complicated the state's plan to be reimbursed by the federal government for hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses, as DeSantis repeatedly promised would happen.
