{"id":1519,"date":"2026-06-02T17:37:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T17:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=1519"},"modified":"2026-06-02T17:37:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T17:37:01","slug":"activists-keep-track-of-alligator-alcatraz-traffic-in-hopes-of-signs-of-a-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=1519","title":{"rendered":"Activists keep track of Alligator Alcatraz traffic in hopes of signs of a shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
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OCHOPEEE, Fla. \u2014 Jessica Namath said she has noticed more traffic than usual out of Alligator Alcatraz, a detention facility running as a state-federal partnership in Ochopee, the heart of the Everglades.<\/p>\n

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Namath joined the voices of environmentalists and human rights activists who want to shut down the facility that the state opened for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold detainees. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am hopeful that they are packing up and getting out of the Everglades,\u201d said Namath, the founder of Floridians for Public Lands, an advocacy group concerned about the facility\u2019s proximity to the Big Cypress National Preserve.<\/p>\n

The facility, also known by state officials as the South Florida Detention Facility and by ICE as the Florida Soft Sided Facility South, remained open on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cDaily operations at Alligator Alley continue as usual,\u201d a Homeland Security spokesperson wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

Related report:<\/b> Detainees say operations at \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 appear to be slowing down<\/p>\n

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On June 23, the Florida Division of Emergency Management seized the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport from Miami-Dade County and opened the network of air-conditioned tents on July 1. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point we will, of course, break it down,\u201d DeSantis said on May 7. \u201cThat was always the goal, and then that airport will go just back to its normal use, which is a very minimal use, a lot of training flights.\u201d<\/p>\n

On May 21, DeSantis issued extending his Jan. 6, 2023, declaration of \u201ca state of emergency in Florida due to the mass migration of illegal aliens\u201d for 60 days. <\/p>\n

There were delays from the Federal Emergency Management Agency\u2019s payments, and data on contractors\u2019 billings also showed that the remote location increased costs. <\/p>\n

Critics view it all as wasteful. Namath hopes for a shutdown. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to many of us to be the most fiscally irresponsible and environmentally damaging location that they could have chosen,\u201d Namath said. \u201cI would think it is time to start wrapping up and getting out of here.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Complete coverage<\/b>: More on Alligator Alcatraz<\/p>\n