A federal watchdog has found that Florida's now-closed Alligator Alcatraz detention centre carried a bed rate of $249 (£187.24) per detainee per day, about 171 per cent higher than Immigration and Customs Enforcement's median rate of $92 (£69.18) in fiscal year 2026.
The Government Accountability Office said ICE did not instruct Florida to open the Florida Soft-Sided Facility and did not enter into a contract or agreement authorising its operation as a federal immigration detention centre. The facility was managed by Florida's Division of Emergency Management and contractors, while the federal government reimbursed the state through a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant programme.
