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(NewsNation) — Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center took less than two weeks to get up and running, but its speedy start came at a cost for taxpayers.
So far, at least $245 million in contracts have been signed for vendors to build, open and operate the detention center designed to house thousands of immigrants, according to publicly available state data.
Some of that data has since been removed from the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System website, with Florida's Division of Emergency Management claiming the contracts contained "proprietary information," said Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani.
Here's what the numbers say so far.
More than $245M allocated for 'Alligator Alcatraz' so far
OCHOPEE, FLORIDA - JULY 10: (L-R) Scott McCurdy, Hunter Leifried, and Creation Leifried take a selfie in front of the Alligator Alcatraz sign at the entrance to the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on July 10, 2025 in Ochopee, Florida. The site is the location of the state-managed immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades that officials have named “Alligator Alcatraz.” (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JULY 4: In an aerial view from a helicopter, Krome Detention Center, run by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is seen on July 4, 2025 in Miami, Florida. U.S. President Donald Trump was present at the opening of the nearby "Alligator Alcatraz", a 5,000-bed facility, located at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades wetlands, part of his expansion of undocumented migrant deportations. (Photo by Alon Skuy/Getty Images)
US President President Donald Trump tours a migrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida on July 1, 2025. President Trump is visiting a migrant detention center in a reptile-infested Florida swamp dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." Trump will attend the opening of the 5,000-bed facility -- located at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades wetlands -- part of his expansion of deportations of undocumented migrants, his spokeswoman said. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
US President President Donald Trump (L), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (2nd-R), and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (2nd-L) tour a migrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida on July 1, 2025. President Trump is visiting a migrant detention center in a reptile-infested Florida swamp dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." Trump will attend the opening of the 5,000-bed facility -- located at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades wetlands -- part of his expansion of deportations of undocumented migrants, his spokeswoman said. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
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/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
OCHOPEE, FLORIDA - JULY 4: In an aerial view from a helicopter, the migrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," is seen located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on July 4, 2025 in Ochopee, Florida. U.S. President Donald Trump was present at the opening of the 5,000-bed facility, located at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades wetlands, as part of his expansion of undocumented migrant deportations. (Photo by Alon Skuy/Getty Images)
NewsNation dug into some of the files, which outlined who the state was contracting and for how much.
St. Petersburg-based company Doodie Calls was allocated $22 million to supply portable toilets and shower trailers at the facility.
Florida-based Critical Response Strategies has a $78.5 million contract in exchange for hiring a warden, corrections officers and camp managers. Other major contractors include Longview Solutions Group, which is being paid $25.6 million for site preparation, civil engineering, road construction and fence installation.
According to the Associated Press, a warden at the facility could make up to $125 an hour. Corrections officers could earn up to $11,600 per month, not including overtime.
The current contracts were granted under an executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring a state of emergency in Florida over immigration. The order allows the state to suspend “any statute, rule or order that could slow the response.”
'Alligator Alcatraz' will cost $450M annually
The facility currently houses approximately 900 detainees but is set up to accommodate thousands more, according to DeSantis. It costs about $245 per bed per day, CNN reported.
That means, if the facility reaches 3,000 detainees, it would cost more than $700,000 a day to run.
It’s estimated the facility will cost $450 million to run each year. That's three times the amount to place migrants in an existing, permanent detention center, according to Florida state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith.
Florida state officials have announced plans to expand the facility’s capacity to 5,000 beds. That calculates to $90,000 per detainee per year, Smith said.
That's roughly triple the nearly $30,000 that is spent per inmate to house detainees in state prisons.
Officials have said some of the cost will be covered by FEMA, but it's unknown when the state will be reimbursed.
The Miami Herald reported the reimbursement will come through FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program, not the disaster relief fund, which assists during hurricanes and other emergencies.
Florida's facility is serving as a blueprint for more potential centers across the nation, a goal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's.
Without confirming that they have been contacted, spokespersons for governors in South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas have told NewsNation they are ready to assist in President Donald Trump’s expanding immigration enforcement plans.
NewsNation's Jeff Arnold, Anna Kutz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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