Florida's Everglades detention camp

Summary

Florida built its first state-run immigration detention camp, with about 3,000 capacity, on a remote Everglades airfield, without a federal environmental impact study, to hold detainees for federal immigration enforcement. The Trump administration promoted it as a model - President Trump toured the site in July 2025 - though the state built and operated it. Amnesty International and an NPR-covered report documented inhuman conditions. By May-June 2026, with total costs estimated near $1 billion, Florida began shutting the camp down and transferring out the remaining detainees.

What happened

On July 3, 2025, Florida opened the first state-run immigration detention camp, with roughly 3,000-person capacity, on a remote Everglades airfield. It was built without a federal environmental impact study; in September 2025 a federal appeals panel ruled that none was required because Florida had not received federal money for the project. Amnesty International and a report covered by NPR documented inhuman conditions including overflowing toilets, maggot-infested food, 24-hour lighting, and denial of water, alongside incommunicado detention. In May 2026, amid escalating costs estimated at nearly $1 billion, Florida notified operators the facility would be shut down; the remaining roughly 1,400 detainees were transferred out, with the last leaving in June 2026 (the US was reported transferring immigrants out on June 18, 2026). DHS cited hurricane-season concerns for emptying the facility. On June 22, 2026, Florida's emergency-management director told vendors to begin full demobilization of the site, which was reported to be shutting down permanently at an estimated total cost of $1.2 billion.

Impact on the United States

Built to hold federal immigration detainees but constructed and run by the state, the facility had no federal oversight, according to Amnesty International, which found conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and alleged enforced disappearances; the Miccosukee Tribe and environmental groups sued over harm to the Everglades wetlands. Soaring costs - estimated at nearly $1 billion by May 2026 and $1.2 billion by June, far above earlier ~$450M/year and $608M-sought figures - were the primary driver of its 2026 closure.

Documented effects

1. Jul 2025Camp opened with ~3,000 capacity[2]
2. Dec 2025Reports documented overflowing toilets, maggot-infested food, and denied water[1][2]
3. Jun 2026Florida began shutting the camp down in May 2026 amid total costs estimated near $1 billion (above the earlier ~$450M/year and $608M-sought figures); remaining detainees (~1,400) were transferred out, with the last leaving in June 2026.[4][5][6]
4. Jun 22, 2026Florida ordered vendors to begin full demobilization of the site on June 22, 2026; total cost estimated at $1.2 billion.[7]
5. Sep 14, 2026DHS Inspector General found 79 detainees were confined in outdoor metal enclosures of about 4 by 4 feet between July 2025 and January 2026, a practice it said "does not align with standards for humane treatment."[8]

Why this is rated severe

Amnesty International and the DHS Inspector General documented conditions at the site (the Inspector General said one practice 'does not align with standards for humane treatment'), alongside gaps in federal oversight, environmental harm and costs estimated at $1.2 billion.

Florida ordered full demobilization of the site June 22, 2026 after all detainees were transferred out; total costs estimated at $1.2 billion

Corrections & updates [5]

Every change to a fact on this page after publication is logged here, newest first.

1. Sep 29, 2026UpdatedStatus

   Status changed after publication. The entry said DHS had not confirmed whether the closure was permanent. On June 22, 2026 Florida's emergency-management director told vendors to begin full demobilization of the site, and CBS Miami reported it was shutting down permanently, with total costs now estimated at $1.2 billion. On Sept. 14, 2026 NBC News reported a DHS Inspector General finding that detainees were held in outdoor cages of about 4 by 4 feet, which the IG said 'does not align with standards for humane treatment.'[7][8]

2. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSource

   Publication dates of three cited sources were corrected to the dates printed on them: the Amnesty International report is dated Dec. 4, 2025, the PBS article Sept. 10, 2025, and the CBS Miami closure article May 12, 2026.[2][3][4]

3. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSummary

   Corrected: the entry said the camp was built in about eight days and bypassed federal environmental review. No cited source gives the construction time, so it was removed. On environmental review, PBS NewsHour (AP) reports that a federal appeals panel ruled the facility did not have to undergo a federal environmental impact study because Florida had not received federal money for it; the entry now says that. CBS News Miami reports the facility opened on July 3, 2025, not around July 2. The display text no longer says DHS had not confirmed the closure was permanent: Florida ordered full demobilization on June 22, 2026. Amnesty International's assessment that there was no federal oversight of the state-run facility is now attributed to it.[2][3][7]

4. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSource

   Corrected source label: PolitiFact is a fact-checking publication and is now labeled Tier 3, not Tier 2.[6]

5. Sep 29, 2026ClarifiedSeverity rationale

   Attributed the conditions findings to Amnesty International and the DHS Inspector General. Severity unchanged.

   + Show previous and current text- Hide previous and current text

   Previously

   Severity 4 reflects documented degrading conditions and oversight gaps on US soil plus environmental and fiscal harm.

   Now

   Amnesty International and the DHS Inspector General documented conditions at the site (the Inspector General said one practice 'does not align with standards for humane treatment'), alongside gaps in federal oversight, environmental harm and costs estimated at $1.2 billion.

Sources [8]