Overview
- Companies running the Everglades facility were told on Monday to start full demobilization, with crews expected to remove fencing, trailers and other structures over several days.
- State and federal officials evacuated the last detainees earlier in June for hurricane-season safety, transferring people to other centers or deporting them.
- The state has spent roughly $1.2 billion on the site and sought about $608 million in federal reimbursement that has been approved on paper but not fully paid because of court challenges and environmental disputes.
- The center drew immediate legal and human rights complaints alleging overcrowded and unsanitary conditions and excessive force, and environmental groups sued over damage to the Everglades while DHS records show many detainees were classified as non-criminal.
- Officials and allies say the airstrip will return to limited pilot training or be restored as protected land, but unpaid vendor bills, pending lawsuits and unsettled federal payments leave the final disposition uncertain.