Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Chip Somodevilla
Nearly two weeks after repeated inquiries, the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) has failed to produce a hurricane or disaster response plan for the controversial immigrant detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The temporary facility, constructed on a flood-prone airfield in the Everglades, was hastily built in just eight days, earning praise from President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for its rapid completion. However, while the physical site comprised of tents, trailers, and chain-link fencing was quickly assembled, its preparedness for Florida’s volatile hurricane season remains deeply unclear.
The Miami Herald, which has been pressing the state for a comprehensive emergency or hurricane evacuation plan, received an official response on Monday. According to a spokesperson for FDEM, “There are no responsive records for this request.”
At a press event held at the camp last week, Gov. DeSantis and FDEM director Kevin Guthrie insisted the facility was designed to withstand hurricane-force winds up to 110 mph. If conditions worsened, they claimed, the camp would be evacuated. But when asked for specifics, Guthrie gave a vague assurance: “I promise you that the hurricane guys have got the hurricane stuff covered.”
That assurance has not convinced many particularly the neighboring Miccosukee Tribe, who have extensive emergency management and flood mitigation plans for their own community in the region. Tribal senior policy advisor Curtis Osceola didn’t mince words, calling the absence of a disaster response strategy “reckless.”
The camp already showed signs of poor planning when it flooded during its first few days of operation, after moderate rainfall. NBC6 South Florida reported that the site, located in low-lying Everglades terrain, began accumulating water almost immediately.
Historically, the area is no stranger to weather extremes. In 2017, Hurricane Irma dumped nearly two feet of rain on the region, prompting the Miccosukee Tribe to install reinforced concrete walls and deploy pumps just to keep their village dry.
Despite those known risks, neither DeSantis nor Guthrie has addressed specific flood response measures for the camp.
“Everything about this just shows how poorly planned this was,” said Osceola. “And now that we’re seeing there’s no hurricane plan, it’s proof positive that this was not thought through beyond making headlines.”
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