'Alligator Alcatraz' loses federal funding as environmental lawsuit looms

The federal government is withholding a $608 million grant to help pay for Florida’s migrant lockups because a required environmental review still hasn’t been completed, newly released records show.

The so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Deportation Depot” centers were projected to cost $1.7 billion over two years, with Floridians expected to pay at least $1.1 billion, according to nearly 3,000 pages of emails and financial sheets reviewed by the Phoenix.

And costs could climb even higher if the federal environmental review continues to delay reimbursement.

On four separate occasions last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency told state officials that it wouldn’t release the full $608.4 million grant award until an Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) review was finalized. FEMA even formally denied a state funding request in December, citing the unfinished review.

State officials say the review, which is being conducted by the feds, is “in progress.” FEMA couldn’t be reached for comment because of the partial federal government shutdown.

“Completing the EHP study is part of the reimbursement process and we continue to work with our federal partners to be compliant and complete all requirements to expedite the process,” Stephanie Hartman, communications director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM), told the Phoenix. She didn’t know when that would happen.

These new revelations are key to a pending lawsuit brought by environmental groups in which the state claimed that federal environmental restrictions don’t apply to the detention centers because they don’t use federal dollars or oversight.

DEM was forced to turn over these records to the plaintiffs as part of this suit. Groups like the Friends of the Everglades had demanded to know the exact dates that federal authorities and state officials agreed on the multi-million dollar grant.

“The records confirm what Friends of the Everglades has maintained from the outset: This is a federal immigration detention facility, conceived and constructed on the promise of federal funding,” Paul Schwiep, attorney for that organization, said in an email to the Phoenix. “Attempting to delay federal reimbursement to sidestep compliance with federal environmental law is gamesmanship — and will not work.”

The records help explain why Florida has yet to see a dime of federal money despite assurances it had been approved for the grant in September.

The records also highlight a contradiction in the state’s messaging:

• Publicly, Florida officials have dismissed the need to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) because they say “Alligator Alcatraz” has received no federal funding and is entirely state-run. Executive Director Kevin Guthrie claimed the Justice Department was the agency tying up the funds.
• Privately, the correspondence shows, the agency knows why it hasn’t been paid: The federal government believes NEPA, through the environmental review, may apply to the state.

The review is a mandatory process that ensures federally funded projects comply with environmental laws like NEPA, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

$390 million in four months …

The revelations come as Florida lawmakers debate how to replenish the state’s emergency response fund, which expired Feb. 17 after legislators failed to agree on how much to spend on immigration enforcement.

Now that the fund is gone, Gov. Ron DeSantis would need legislative approval to quickly access emergency dollars for future disasters, such as hurricanes.

The fund, created in 2022 for immediate disaster relief, was opened to anti-immigration enforcement when DeSantis declared a state of emergency for immigration in January 2023. The state has drawn $573 million from the trust since then specifically for immigration actions.

Of that amount, the state spent $405 million in the past six months, including for private jet flights, restaurant meals, and legal fees.

The newly released records reveal even more spending, showing that although earlier media reports had calculated Alligator Alcatraz’s one-year price tag at between $250 million and $450 million, the center actually cost $390.2 million during its first four months of operation.

Projections by DEM revealed that the agency anticipated spending as much as $1.7 billion between June 2025 and July 2027 on the detention centers, although a spokesperson has claimed revised projections are much lower.

‘Designated recipient of FEMA grant funding’

Alligator Alcatraz, located in the Everglades, has drawn a number of lawsuits, including allegations of human rights violations and flouting of state-level laws.

At the same time, critics have attacked the center as an environmental nightmare since its June 19 creation.

The state drew a lawsuit from the Friends of the Everglades, the Miccosukee Tribe, EarthJustice, and Center for Biological Diversity days after construction began for allegedly violating NEPA. This federal law requires agencies to review environmental consequences before a project can be approved.

The DeSantis administration said it wasn’t using federal dollars so it didn’t have to comply. Although it won the suit, the state announced days later — on Sep. 15 — that it had applied for federal funding.

But a very different scene was playing out behind closed doors:

Florida had not applied for funding in September after all.

Instead, the state helped FEMA draft the grant language itself as early as June and initially applied for the program on Aug. 7, as the Tributary first reported. Records show the feds curated the program specifically for DEM.

“[DEM] is the designated recipient of FEMA grant funding, including my parallel role as the State Administrative Agent for all DHS domestic security funding,” Guthrie wrote on June 24, responding to a confused Miami ICE agent wondering which Florida agency the grant should be made out to.

“I am the designated state coordinating officer, governor’s authorized representative, and as indicated the state administrative agent,” he said.

The $608.4 million grant — called the Detention Support Grant Program — Florida was approved for on Sep. 30 was co-written by DEM and FEMA agents dating to at least June 23. Repeatedly, officials from both agencies traded emails back-and-forth with different draft grant versions, asking for “edits” and “input.”

But that wasn’t enough to get around environmental law.

In September, FEMA agents expressed concern about environmental issues getting in the way of grant disbursement.

“We still haven’t received the greenlight from our Department’s general counsel given the environmental nexus, but I expect that will be soon,” Stacey Street, FEMA’s deputy assistant administrator for grant programs, wrote on Sep. 27. A day later, she said that although she sensed “This is close to 100%…we are awaiting final steer from our DHS general counsel on the environmental litigation matter.”

Six months later, the review remains unfinished.

On Dec. 10, FEMA denied DEM’s $30 million payment request because the environmental review still wasn’t complete. Days earlier, state officials argued the review was unnecessary because Alligator Alcatraz is “not a permanent structure.”

The $608 million reimbursement, if received, would not cover any construction or modification costs. And until an environmental review comes through, the money won’t come at all.