Florida will shut down the controversial "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention center by early June 2026. State officials notified private vendors on May 12, 2026, to prepare to relocate the remaining detainees and dismantle the facility.

The Impetus: Financial unsustainability drove the decision. The facility cost $250 million to build and more than $1 million per day to operate. Florida taxpayers shouldered these costs because the federal government has not reimbursed the state's $608 million grant request.