Overview
- Tom Homan confirmed Thursday that the administration is discussing a possible shutdown of the state-run Everglades detention site as part of a wider review of immigration detention.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged the talks and called the center temporary, saying it has processed about 22,000 people, while ICE data shows roughly 1,383 to 1,400 men are currently held there, far below the 5,000 beds once touted.
- Running the remote facility has topped $1 million a day, and Florida has requested about $608 million in federal reimbursement that has not been paid as DHS says it is still reviewing the costs.
- DHS publicly denies pressuring Florida to close the site, which remains open after an appeals court in April blocked a lower-court order that would have shut it, even as lawsuits and reports of unsanitary food, denied medication, and outdoor cage use continue and the state disputes those claims.
- A report Friday in the Washington Examiner cited an unnamed former official saying closure is planned before hurricane season due to costs and storm risks, but no formal decision has been announced, and any shutdown would force transfers for roughly 1,400 detainees to other facilities.