Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration detention center isn't funded by FEMA hurricane money

Florida and federal officials announced the state will build a new immigration detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Everglades, and because the facility will be partly funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, some Floridians are worried whether it will affect hurricane relief funds. 

Homeland Security’s Secretary Kristi Noem "is using FEMA funds to build her Alligator Alcatraz concentration camp in Florida. At the beginning of hurricane season," reads a June 23 X post. "When we can’t pay our bills or fund meals for kids and the elderly." 

Another June 23 X post reads, "Florida’s building ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ by diverting FEMA shelter funds meant for housing and aid. They’re not protecting anyone, they’re stealing emergency relief money to build detention centers in a swamp. Cruelty is always the point."

These claims come after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a more active than normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

The claims also follow President Donald Trump saying he wants to eliminate FEMA and have states handle preparation and response to hurricanes and other disasters. NPR reported that FEMA appears less ready to respond to disasters under Trump, because of a management shakeup, employee departures and the cancellation of a program that helped with disaster relief.  

The "Alligator Alcatraz" facility gets its nickname from "Alcatraz," the former maximum-security prison island in San Francisco Bay known for its isolation, security and minimal inmate privileges. The "Alligator" part is because the 39-square-mile facility will be located remotely in the Everglades, a swampy region surrounded by alligators and pythons, where "there’s nowhere to go, nowhere to hide," according to a June 19 video posted by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. (The facility would be 6 miles north of Everglades National Park.)

Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office told PolitiFact the facility will use temporary buildings and shelters similar to those used during natural disasters. The location will be the abandoned Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, which has an existing airstrip. The state will use the site under the governor’s emergency powers.

The Department of Homeland Security posted June 23 on X that the facility is among its efforts to "deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations. Alligator Alcatraz will expand facilities and bed space in just days, thanks to our partnership with Florida."

The government will allocate some FEMA funds to the facility, but it will not use disaster relief funds.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management will build the facility for people arrested by Florida law enforcement for immigration law offenses. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program delegates to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specific immigration functions. Immigrants arrested in other states also could be transferred to the facility under Florida’s custody.

 How FEMA will fund "Alligator Alcatraz"

A Noem spokesperson told PolitiFact on June 24 that the new Florida immigration detention facility will largely be funded by FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program. Information about that program is no longer available on FEMA’s website, but a DHS spokesperson told us that FEMA has roughly $625 million in that program’s funds that can be allocated to build the "Alligator Alcatraz" facility.

The DHS spokesperson also said that Florida initially will pay for the facility, and then will submit a reimbursement request to FEMA and DHS.

DHS said the facility’s total cost will be approximately $450 million for one year. It’s expected to open 30 to 60 days after construction, which started June 23, according to The New York Times. It will open with 500 to 1,000 beds and is expected to have 5,000 beds by early July. 

Congress approved FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program in fiscal year 2023 to give money to state and local governments and nonprofit organizations that provide migrants with temporary shelter, food and transportation. The program uses money Congress gave Customs and Border Protection, and is administered by FEMA. Before then, including during the Trump administration, migrants received help through another FEMA program, the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which is for people facing homelessness and hunger. 

FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which is primarily used after natural disasters, is funded separately by Congress.

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump falsely claimed the Biden administration was stealing millions from FEMA’s disaster aid fund to help migrants. The Shelter and Services Program funding does not come at disaster victims’ expense. 

PolitiFact previously reported that in fiscal year 2024, which started October 2023 and ended September 2024, Congress directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to give FEMA $650 million for the Shelter and Services Program. 

From fiscal years 2021 to 2024, Congress allocated about $1.5 billion combined for both the Shelter and Services Program and the Emergency Food and Shelter program. (The Trump administration stopped funding for the Emergency Food and Shelter program.)

"Alligator Alcatraz" is just one of the ways Florida is planning to detain, process, and deport immigrants illegally in the U.S.

Earlier this year, Florida offered to the federal government to build immigration detention sites. The state’s "Immigration Enforcement Operations Plan" says it identified several locations in the northeastern and south central regions of the state that could serve as detention centers. The report said that to make the detention and deportation process "seamless," the locations "are typically" near airstrips.

DeSantis said during a June 25 press conference that Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, a training base for the Florida National Guard, soon will be formally announced as an immigration detention facility.

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