{"id":2260,"date":"2026-06-18T12:32:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:32:49","slug":"all-detainees-transferred-out-of-controversial-migrant-facility-known-as-alligator-alcatraz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260","title":{"rendered":"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

MIAMI (AP) \u2014 All detainees at an immigration detention center on an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades, known as\u00a0\u201cAlligator Alcatraz,\u201d\u00a0have been transferred to other facilities, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said, citing concerns related to the hurricane season.<\/p>\n

Read more Sunny a bit more sticky\u2026isolated storms east\/south<\/a><\/p>\n

The South Florida Detention Center has been praised by\u00a0President Donald Trump. But its conditions have been\u00a0harshly criticized\u00a0by lawyers, 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the safety of the illegal alien detainees, we transferred them to other facilities,\u201d department spokesperson Lauren Bis said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s hurricane season, which concluded without any storms making landfall in Florida. It has been operating since then.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the ICE announcement, the National Hurricane Center reported on Wednesday that the\u00a0first tropical storm o\u00a0f the 2026 hurricane season had formed off the Texas coast.<\/p>\n

Detainees at the facility have talked about their\u00a0difficulty accessing lawyers and have\u00a0described poor physical conditions, including\u00a0worms in the food, toilets that don\u2019t flush, floors flooded with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere.<\/p>\n

Surrounded by alligator-filled swamps in the Florida Everglades, \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d was built by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 administration in a matter of days, and Trump toured it on July 1, 2025, just two days before it was opened.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Since the facility opened, immigration advocates said the tents were never safe or humane for holding people. Federal and state officials, nonetheless, had said that it was prepared to withstand hurricanes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransferring people out of this cruel facility is an important step, but it does not erase the harm that has already been done,\u201d said Amy Godshall, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who filed a lawsuit against the state and the federal government alleging a lack of access to legal representation for detainees. \u201cThe state and federal government must permanently close this facility and commit to never detaining people there again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Military officials identify all 8 victims of fiery B-52 crash at California Air Force base<\/a><\/p>\n

DeSantis\u00a0said in May that the South Florida Detention Facility always was meant to be temporary. He said the facility had processed and deported 22,000 detainees since its opening.<\/p>\n

Hurricane season is an excuse, activists say<\/h4>\n

Immigration advocates and lawyers said the hurricane season is an excuse, not the real reason why the detainees have been transferred.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a nonsense excuse because they opened in the middle of the worst part of hurricane season last year,\u201d said Arianne Betancourt, a community advocate at the non-governmental group The Workers Circle who has spent months connecting dozens of detainees with pro bono attorneys.<\/p>\n

Betancourt and other advocates and attorneys said they noticed an increase in the transfer of detainees to other facilities over the past two weeks, during which time they lost contact with dozens of detainees.<\/p>\n

Katie Blankenship, an immigration attorney at Sanctuary of the South, said all 50 clients that she and other attorneys have been providing free advice during the past 20 days have been moved from \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d to other facilities in South Florida, California, Arizona, Louisiana and Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are all gone,\u201d Blankenship said. \u201cThey have been moved and disappeared into the system and are unavailable to family or counsel, typically for a period of about a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

She noted that she hasn\u2019t received any official notice about the transfers, but instead found out because her clients did not appear at hearings or did not show up at calls. When she tried to find out what had happened to them, she located them using the official detainee search tool and saw that they had been transferred to other facilities, Blankenship said.<\/p>\n

Families left to pick up pieces<\/h4>\n

Renata Bozzetto, deputy director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said that even if the facility is closed, the harm will not end.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the people detained there will be transferred to other detention facilities, while their families continue to face uncertainty and hardship,\u2019\u2019 Bozzetto said. \u201cWhen this detention camp closes, many corporations and contractors will have walked away with millions in profits, while immigrant families are left to pick up the pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Northern Arizona search and rescue teams see rise in calls as summer starts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All detainees at an immigration detention center known as\u00a0\u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d\u00a0have been transferred.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAll detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"All detainees at an immigration detention center known as\u00a0\u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d\u00a0have been transferred.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T12:32:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T12:32:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260\"},\"wordCount\":829,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8c142b2e1e562f269702526e16a45e9d.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260\",\"name\":\"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 - Tucson Moving Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8c142b2e1e562f269702526e16a45e9d.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T12:32:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8c142b2e1e562f269702526e16a45e9d.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8c142b2e1e562f269702526e16a45e9d.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2260#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tucson Moving Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 - Tucson Moving Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 - Tucson Moving Report","og_description":"All detainees at an immigration detention center known as\u00a0\u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d\u00a0have been transferred.","og_url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260","og_site_name":"Tucson Moving Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-18T12:32:49+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"headline":"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019","datePublished":"2026-06-18T12:32:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260"},"wordCount":829,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c142b2e1e562f269702526e16a45e9d.avif","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260","name":"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 - Tucson Moving Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c142b2e1e562f269702526e16a45e9d.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-18T12:32:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c142b2e1e562f269702526e16a45e9d.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c142b2e1e562f269702526e16a45e9d.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2260#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"All detainees transferred out of controversial migrant facility known as \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/","name":"Tucson Moving Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}