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FEMA Opens $608 Million Grants for 'Alligator Alcatraz'-Style Migrant Camps

FEMA has launched a $608 million grant program to fund state-run migrant detention camps following Florida’s rapid construction of an Everglades facility that has begun deportation flights.

An aerial view shows "Alligator Alcatraz" ICE detention center at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, U.S. July 24, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and others, tour "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla.
An inside look at Alligator Alcatraz, Florida's immigration detention center.
Aerial view of structures, including gigantic tents built at the recently opened migrant detention center, “Alligator Alcatraz,” located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, on Friday, July 4, 2025. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/TNS)

Overview

  • States have until August 8 to apply for funds under FEMA’s new Detention Support Grant Program, which covers construction of temporary migrant detention facilities.
  • Florida erected the Alligator Alcatraz camp in just eight days at an estimated annual cost of $450 million, with the state fronting expenses pending FEMA reimbursement.
  • Department of Homeland Security and ICE have begun deportation flights from the Everglades site, removing hundreds of migrants and piloting a self-deportation stipend program.
  • Chicago, Denver and Pima County sued the administration over terminated Shelter and Services Program grants, while civil rights groups have filed suits over detainee conditions and legal access.
  • The Office of Management and Budget has proposed eliminating the Shelter and Services Program in FY2026, raising doubts about long-term funding as Florida evaluates evacuation plans for its remote Everglades detention camp.