Florida awarded $608 million U.S. grant for immigration detention centers
Florida officials received a hefty lump sum of cash from the federal government Tuesday to cover the cost of the Everglades immigration detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
As reported first by WPLG, the Department of Homeland Security revealed two days after the fact that Florida had been awarded the full $608.4 million stockpile of funds within the Detention Support Grant Program, a new program housed under the Federal Emergency Management Agency designed to compensate states for detaining undocumented immigrants.
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Florida was the only applicant for the grant program, FEMA told the Florida Phoenix last month. That money will foot the construction, housing, feeding, and equipment costs spent on the Everglades center — on which the state has already spent at least $245 million — and the “Deportation Depot” facility in Baker County.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced in August that Florida may build a “Panhandle Pokey” in northwest Florida, which the grant would also cover.
“Another bogus narrative bites the dust. I said all along that we would be reimbursed,” DeSantis posted on social media Thursday, hours after the news broke.
Although the governor had vowed for months that the federal government, not state taxpayers, would pay the bill, neither he nor his office could confirm to the Florida Phoenix as of Tuesday whether the state had been reimbursed.
FEMA had not responded to a request for comment at the time.
What is the Detention Support Grant Program?
The Detention Support Grant Program is an initiative by President Donald Trump’s administration to encourage states to assist with federal immigration efforts. It’s part of FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program, partially used by President Joe Biden to set up short-term shelters for migrants released by Border Patrol.
Florida officials applied for federal reimbursement in mid-September, just days after a three-judge panel tossed a lawsuit to shut down the Everglades center over environmental concerns. Of note, the court nixed the case on the theory that the center was not subject the federal environmental laws because it had not received any federal dollars.
More money for Florida’s anti-illegal immigration efforts first began to pour in last week. ICE announced last Friday that Florida’s state and local law enforcement would receive $38 million for equipment and transportation involved in detaining non-citizens.
Tuesday, the first $14 million of a $250 million state grant was awarded to law enforcement by the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, a new task force headed by DeSantis and the Cabinet.
The reimbursement for the detention centers came on the final day for FEMA to award the DSGP grant. A day later, the federal government shut down — and is still inoperative — meaning FEMA will not process further grant requests until the government comes back online.
