All detainees from immigration facility 'Alligator Alcatraz' have been transferred, DHS says

By — Gisela Salomon, Associated Press Gisela Salomon, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/all-detainees-from-immigration-facility-alligator-alcatraz-have-been-transferred-dhs-says Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter All detainees from immigration facility 'Alligator Alcatraz' have been transferred, DHS says Politics Jun 17, 2026 6:09 PM EDT MIAMI (AP) — All detainees at an immigration detention center in an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," have been transferred to other facilities, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said, citing concerns related to the hurricane season. The South Florida Detention Center has been praised by President Donald Trump. But its conditions have been harshly criticized by l awyers, families and human rights groups, who have persistently denounced the mistreatment of detainees since the center opened 11 months ago, during the Atlantic hurricane season. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. DHS said that all detainees at the Florida state-run facility had been transferred but did not specify how many or where they were taken. Nor did it say whether the facility would close permanently or only temporarily. "For the safety of the illegal alien detainees, we transferred them to other facilities," department spokesperson Lauren Bis said in an emailed statement. The hurricane season spans six months, from June through November. The detention facility opened on July 3, 2025, one month after the start of that year's hurricane season, which concluded without any storms making landfall in Florida. It has been operating since then. Shortly after ICE announcement, the National Hurricane Center reported on Wednesday that the first tropical storm o f the 2026 hurricane season had formed off the Texas coast. WATCH: Florida's controversial 'Alligator Alcatraz' expected to close Detainees at the facility have talked about their difficulty accessing lawyers, and have described poor physical conditions, including worms in the food, toilets that don't flush, flooding floors with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere. Surrounded by alligator-filled swamps in the Florida Everglades, "Alligator Alcatraz" was built by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration in a matter of days, and Trump toured it on July 1, 2025, just two days before it was opened. The Florida Division of Emergency Management, the main state agency responsible for its operation, did not immediately respond to an information request from The Associated Press on Wednesday. Since the facility opened, immigration advocates said the tents were never safe or humane to hold people. Federal and state officials, nonetheless, had said that it was prepared to withstand hurricanes. READ MORE: 'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees given color-coded uni