According to The New York Times, Florida officials are having discussions with the Trump administration about potentially closing the high-profile immigration detention center nicknamed ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ The outlet reports that operating the facility has cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars. Breaking News: Federal and state officials are said to be in talks to close the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention center in Florida. https://t.co/GLPv5yJkVw — The New York Times (@nytimes) May 7, 2026 More from The New York Times: The shutdown talks are preliminary, the people said. But officials at the Department of Homeland Security have concluded that it is too expensive to keep operating the center, known as Alligator Alcatraz. Homeland security officials have also come to consider the center ineffective, the federal official said. All three people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal talks. The DeSantis administration has been spending more than $1 million a day to run the center, which is in a swampy, isolated area between Miami and Naples. Some private vendors hired by the state to operate it have been struggling to front costs, according to the person close to the DeSantis administration. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which operates the center, nor Mr. DeSantis’s office. Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, has repeatedly called the Everglades detention center a success, saying it has helped the Trump administration by providing more beds to house federal detainees. He has also said that the facility was intended to be temporary. But the center’s shutdown would be hailed by immigration lawyers, activists and many detainees and their families as a huge win. Critics have denounced what they describe as unsanitary and inhumane conditions at the center since it opened 10 months ago; state officials have consistently dismissed such descriptions as false. The outlet cited a federal official, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, and an individual close to the DeSantis administration, all unnamed, in its reporting. “Since its inception, Alligator Alcatraz has processed over 21,000 illegal aliens for deportation. The facility’s purpose was to provide Florida and the Trump administration with a rapid, temporary solution to four years of Biden’s open border invasion. Needless to say, Alligator Alcatraz was a massive success,” a senior Florida government official said in a statement to Fox News. “President Trump secured record funding from Congress to set up permanent sites for detaining and deporting illegal aliens. As those sites come online, the need for Alligator Alcatraz as a holding area will wane, while its 2.5-mile runway will remain available and used for large flights from neighboring ICE facilities,” the statement continued. “We are glad to see DHS rebuilt under President Trump. We continue to fully support the mission, and when it’s no longer required, Alligator Alcatraz will return to the Everglades with Florida’s commitment that it will never be developed. We also appreciate the federal government’s commitment to reimbursing Florida for its immediate efforts to step in and help with this mission,” it added. NEW: As NYT reports that Feds & FL officials are in talks to close down Alligator Alcatraz, a senior FL government official provides the following statement to @FoxNews: "Since its inception, Alligator Alcatraz has processed over 21,000 illegal aliens for deportation. The… — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 7, 2026 NBC 6 South Florida noted: NBC6 has reached out to DeSantis’ office, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Department of Homeland Security and was waiting to hear back. The Everglades facility was built last summer at a remote airstrip by DeSantis’ administration to support President Trump’s immigration policies. Multiple detainees have come forward alleging poor conditions in the facility, and multiple lawsuits have been filed seeking to close it, but an appeals court last month decided it would remain open. What do you reckon?