TALLAHASSY, Fla. (AP) — The Gov. Ron Desantis administration has already signed a contract to pay at least $245 million to set up and operate a new immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, known as “Crocodile Alcatraz,” according to a public database.
The amount of money Florida taxpayers set for the front line is in line with $450 million for the year, where they estimate the facility will cost.
It also reminds me of the public funds that DeSantis’ Republican administration is spending to help President Donald Trump implement a massive deportation agenda.
Human rights advocates, faith leaders and environmentalists have denounced the detention centers. So did Mark Morgan, former acting director of immigration customs enforcement during Trump’s first term. Morgan wrote an opinion piece published by Fox News, who criticizes the facility as “built for headlines” and “ripe for failure, mismanagement and corruption.”
This is the appearance of the numbers.
Over $245 million has been allocated so far
A state database of government contracts shows that since Florida officials announced plans for the facility on June 19, the Governor’s Office of Enforcement has awarded at least 20 contracts awarding taxpayer funds totaling more than $245 million to build and manage the facility. It rose in days from a county-owned runway surrounded by about 45 miles (72 kilometres) of marshland west of downtown Miami.
All contracts were awarded under the executive order that the governor first enacted in 2023, declaring an illegal immigration emergency, and he has since been renewed. The order allows the state sweeping agency to suspend a “law, rule, or order” that is deemed to delay response to an emergency, including requirements to compete for public contracts.
State officials say at least some of the costs will be covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It is best known for responding to hurricanes and other natural disasters. However, in court documents filed earlier this month, a Homeland Security lawyer said the federal government has yet to reimburse Florida for its costs. The department revealed that “Florida uses state funds on state land to build and operate facilities under the state’s emergency department.”
The largest contract totals $78.5 million.
The single largest state contract associated with the facility is a $78.5 million deal with Critical Response Strategy, a Jacksonville-based consulting firm. Covered liability includes the employment of observers, camp managers, corrections officers and IT workers.
Other major contractors include Longview Solutions Group. This has paid $25.6 million for site preparation, civil engineering, road construction and fence installation. Doodie Calls, a St. Petersburg-based supplier of portable toilets and shower trailers, has been awarded a $22 million contract.
The company’s Gotham has signed a $21.1 million contract to provide IT services, access badges and wristbands to detainees, while SLSCO Ltd and Garner Environmental Services have been awarded a $19.7 million transaction to build the site and handle ongoing maintenance.
The amendment officer will pay up to $11,600 a month.
One of the contracts shared with The Associated Press shows that a critical response strategy is to hire temporary facility observers for $125 an hour, potentially spending over $400,000 on overtime. It is not clear how long staff can expect to work in the facility.
According to a job offer from the LinkedIn company, facility corrections officers can expect to earn overtime in addition to up to $11,600 a month. The starting wage for Florida Rank and File Corrections Officer is $22 per hour at state brick and mortar stores, or about $3,800 a month, with Desantis having a very understaffed effort to force members of the Florida State Guard to work for more than two years.
No publicly available contracts
Detailed deliverables and item spending documents have disappeared from the state website as journalists and watchdogs question the contracts and the companies behind them. They were replaced by a one-page invoice showing the company’s name, the amount being charged, the date each transaction was signed, and the address to which the bill was sent.
Several multi-million dollar contracts were awarded to politicumba, whom Desantis and other Republicans, to campaigns that supported Desantis and other Republicans.
The governor’s office directed questions regarding the contract with the Florida Department of Emergency Management, the state agency responsible for building the detention center. Spokesman Stephanie Hartman said the contract was removed because it contains “unique information that should not be uploaded.”
The department did not answer questions about whether the full contract would be released.
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Kate Payne is a legion of the Associated Press/America Statehouse News Initiative report. Report for America is a non-profit, national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on infiltrated issues.
