Timeline of confusion: A look at FL’s cost projections for ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ ‘Deportation Depot’

By: Liv Caputo

Outlets: Florida Phoenix

Published: March 2, 2026

Words: 722

Last Updated: 1 week, 2 days ago

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For months, the price tag for the Everglades immigrant detention center the DeSantis administration calls “Alligator Alcatraz” was left to media speculation.

Confusion abounded as various reports estimated the facility could cost anywhere between $245 million and $450 million for the year. But analysts weren’t the only ones drawing conjectures.

So were the emergency managers operating the center.

According to nearly 3,000 pages of records reviewed by the Phoenix, the Florida Division …

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