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Judge orders Alligator Alcatraz to close within 60 days
FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.
OCHOPEE, Fla. - The scaling down of Alligator Alcatraz is continuing after a federal judge stood by her decision to require the state to close the deportation center within 60 days.
The number of migrants there is dwindling, and Democrats are calling it a huge waste of money.
RELATED: 'Alligator Alcatraz’ may empty in days as court-ordered closure looms, state official says
The backstory:
The judge affirming her decision to close down Alligator Alcatraz comes just under two months after Alligator Alcatraz had the highest profile opening possible, with a visit from President Donald Trump.
"I wouldn't want to run through the Everglades for long," he said on July 1, the day it opened. "It will keep people where they're supposed to be."
What they're saying:
Governor Ron DeSantis admitted on Wednesday there might be more alligators around it, than people in it.
PREVIOUS: Alligator Alcatraz violated environmental law: judge
"I think [DHS has] been having rapid removals from Alligator Alcatraz and I think that's caused the census to go down," he said. "But again, that's not necessarily that we control in either direction."
The state's emergency management coordinator, Kevin Guthrie, told religious leaders in an email that was later leaked that, "We are probably going to be down to zero individuals within a few days."
Big picture view:
That comes just a week after a federal judge found that not doing an environmental assessment of the property first was illegal. She blocked new migrants from being brought in, ordered all construction to stop, and for Alligator Alcatraz to be dismantled within sixty days.
Environmental groups had argued the sewage, lights and human activity were threatening protected habitats.
"The governor is just spinning," said State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando). "He's embarrassed and humiliated about the fact that the court is shutting down this very, very important priority for him."
Dig deeper:
Democrats are pouncing because of the amount of money spent on it. Smith said nearly $250 million has been spent on the facility, in the form of no-bid contracts signed under the governor's emergency declaration.
"Eventually the truth will come to light, not only about how much money was spent, but who was detained there, for what reasons, under what conditions," said Smith.
What's next:
DeSantis is still appealing the judge's ruling to a higher court, saying the environmental damage is non-existent, because all the activity is happening on the tarmac of an old airport.
He said the number of people there is so small, because DHS is deporting people faster than the state can bring them in.
"We have to continue with this mission," the governor said. "It's important, and, ultimately, it's going to be good for the state of Florida."
Still, though, the state has not provided real-time counts of how many migrants are being held at Alligator Alcatraz, nor have they said how many or how often they're being flown out.
The Source: Information for this article was compiled by FOX 13’s Evan Axelbank through interviews with elected and state officials, and sources both on and off-the-record.