Talking Points Memo brings the receipts.
TPM has obtained and analyzed over a dozen contracts and invoices related to the construction and operation of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention camp in the Everglades. The documents identify eight previously undisclosed companies — including two firms with a Fortune 500 pedigree — involved with the controversial facility. They also show that, in at least one instance, resources allocated for the state’s “disaster preparedness” apparatus were diverted to the site as DeSantis’ office used emergency powers to quickly establish the camp, causing a shortfall that needs to be addressed during the ongoing hurricane season.
The camp was first announced by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is DeSantis’ former chief of staff and was manager of the governor’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign, late last month. The state began to move quickly to stand it up. That quick pace was captured by the contracts, which included at least one with “rush” fees, the diverted disaster resources, and indications the facility was still being built out and supplied after it was officially opened on July 1.
In the weeks since plans for the site were revealed, opponents have raised alarms about its potential environmental impact, whether it would afford due process to detainees, and the harsh conditions in the swampy region. There have also been concerns about transparency, including attorneys’ access to the people being held and the identities of the firms that received contracts for equipment and services provided to the facility.
TPM has identified contracts and invoices totaling $19,983,785.03 in the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System (FACTS) that were issued to nine different firms. In one instance, the chief executive of a company contacted by TPM stated that he was unaware the business’ products were being used for the detention camp.
Rep. Maxwell Frost ripped Republicans for the conditions at the facility, and for diverting the funds on the House floor this Wednesday:
FROST: He said it's not going after criminals, but we all know is one big lie. Hundreds of the people being held in this internment camp have no criminal charges.
I won't stay silent while our government turns the Everglades land, of which protecting it used to be a bipartisan thing, and the state is spending $450 million from our Division of Emergency Management to run this internment camp, and we're in hurricane season.
I don't care if you're a Democrat, Republican, I don't care what you are.
The state, the Division of Emergency Management has the ability to spend up to $500 million without going to the legislature and emergency money.
They've they're going up to $450. We're about to go into hurricane season, which means that when a hurricane is barreling towards our state, they're not gonna be able to do what they need to do immediately to save lives because every minute matters.
They'll have to go back to the legislature and beg for more money because they spent $450 million of our money on a damn internment camp in the middle of the Everglades.
Along with partners, we're going to do something about it. Of course litigation has been filed. I think what's important for people to know is that this is a federal facility.
We were told that ICE is calling the shots here... a federal facility run and operated by the state.
As TPM also reported, other Florida Democrats ripped DeSantis as well:
Top Florida Democrats issued blistering responses on Wednesday following a TPM report that detailed how Sunshine State Gov. Ron DeSantis diverted “disaster preparedness” resources in the rush to build the “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention camp.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who toured the site earlier this month and subsequently decried the conditions there, sentd a statement to TPM blasting every aspect of the project.
“DeSantis already operates under a cloud of corruption when it comes to stealing taxpayer dollars. So, it’s no surprise he’d siphon off and create shortfalls in our hurricane preparedness funds for this boondoggle, then hide it from the public, or that he’d hand out sweetheart contracts to donors to build this monument to cruelty and denied due process,” Wasserman Schultz said. “This internment camp is an outrageously wasteful publicity stunt, designed to hurt immigrants and distract from reckless Republican policies that will double the ranks of Florida’s uninsured.”
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried similarly questioned the facility's purpose and the fact that emergency equipment was pulled to the site.
“Ron DeSantis is gambling with Floridians’ lives. Diverting critical emergency communications equipment during hurricane season is not just irresponsible—it’s dangerous,” Fried said in a statement to TPM. “First responders need every tool at their disposal to save lives. Instead, the Governor is raiding hurricane response resources for political games.”
