(Miami, FL) - Alligator Alcatraz may have closed, but the debts generated by the makeshift immigration facility in the Florida Everglades are still piling up.
The DeSantis administration is now asking for another $250 million to pay immigration-related bills, including debts to companies that built and serviced Alligator Alcatraz.
This much-needed cash infusion comes as Florida is now in the peak of hurricane season and the Division of Emergency Management, or FDEM, which responds to disasters, is drained.
The division's general purpose is to deploy resources after hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and other emergencies. But pending invoices show there is not enough money in the budget to process payments, just three months into the budget year.
The issue was addressed Friday during the joint legislative budget commission's meeting on long range financial outlook.
"Contractors were hired to rapidly transform the airstrip into a detention site and provide the logistical, operational and support services required to keep it running. Even after detainees were transferred out, those companies remain entitled to payment under state contracts." according to the FDEM overdue report on spending.
Florida has only received $84.5 million from the $600-million grant promised by the federal government to pay for illegal immigration enforcement.