DeSantis drained the state's emergency funds for Alligator Alcatraz and other boondoggles

News and commentary for Floridians and all Americans concerned about the future of our democracy

As a tropical storm bore down on Florida’s Panhandle, state records show that Gov. Ron DeSantis used funds designed to help Floridians recover from natural disasters—such as storms and hurricanes—for his pet immigration projects like Alligator Alcatraz and Deportation Depot. Reporter Liz Caputo of the Florida Phoenix has the story, and it is reprinted here with permission of the Tallahassee-based news service.

By Liv Caputo

Florida Phoenix

The DeSantis administration spent nearly two-thirds of Florida’s emergency fund last fiscal year on fighting illegal immigration, dwarfing spending for severe weather, international rescues, and other emergency missions for which the fund was created.

State records show that the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), the agency in charge of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Deportation Depot” lockups, shelled out $890 million in taxpayer dollars between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.

Of that, $564 million — about 63% — went to immigration enforcement, meaning emergency managers spent more on immigration than all emergency missions combined last year.

The rest paid for assistance to counties and other states, costs associated with rescuing Americans from Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, and severe weather — including snow in the Panhandle, storms in Northwest Florida, and heavy October rainfall.

The spending represents a significant shift in the purpose of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, a trust created in 2022 to allow Gov. Ron DeSantis to quickly pay for disasters like hurricanes, floods, and more without legislative approval.

But in 2023, the trust became a financing vehicle for one of DeSantis’ top priorities: immigration. Gearing up for a presidential run and enjoying an iron grip over the GOP Legislature, DeSantis declared a state of emergency on immigration — one that he’s renewed at least 20 times since.

This opened the fund’s dollars to immigration enforcement, allowing FDEM to spend $573 million out of it since 2023 — 98% of which was paid for in the past year. This is largely because of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Deportation Depot,” facilities, state-run detention centers erected last summer, lauded by President Trump, and mirrored by Republican states nationwide.

But these costs represent just a fraction of the total to be spent on immigration. As the Phoenix previously reported, immigration contracts signed by FDEM are valued at roughly $1.01 billion. This doesn’t include isolated immigration costs like food, supplies, or travel.

FDEM still owes the vendors that built and ran the facilities at least another half a billion dollars.

Despite those outstanding costs, the fund has under $7 million left. Lawmakers approved another $250 million for the trust in June, but FDEM hasn’t asked for the money yet.

The agency also missed the deadline for a new quarterly report detailing the fund’s health and cash projections, a requirement lawmakers added this year. Representatives of the Senate president and House speaker told the Phoenix they had not received the report, which was due five days ago. FDEM did not respond to questions about when it would submit the information.

Immigration spending from the fund last fiscal year exceeded the individual costs of several past emergency responses, including Hurricane Idalia, Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Nicole, and evacuation flights for Americans from Israel and Haiti.

The estimated $1.01 billion in immigration-related contracts, meanwhile, would rank as the third-largest use of the trust since its creation, behind only Hurricane Ian ($2.5 billion) and Hurricane Milton ($1.5 billion).

The reporter on this story, Liv Caputo, covers immigration for the Florida Phoenix. She’s had her work cited in The New York Times, the Miami Herald, and the New York Post, as well as having been republished here at Tropic Press. She worked previously at The Floridian Press and The Florida Standard. A Florida native, she graduated from Florida State University.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. This story is republished with their permission. To support Florida Phoenix, click here:

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