Florida House GOP Bill Blocks Dollars for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

A Republican effort to block new funding for the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Deportation Depot” migrant lockups unanimously cleared its first House committee hearing Monday.

The bill would prevent the state’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund from going toward immigration enforcement, a move that would starkly pivot legislative Republicans away from their all-in anti-illegal immigration crackdown pushed just one year ago.

“This bill would prohibit [funding for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’]. It is for natural disasters only,” said Rep. Griff Griffits, the Panama City Beach Republican sponsoring the legislation. He spoke to reporters following a hearing before the Transportation and Economic Development subcommittee.

“If we have another issue with immigration — which we know is an ongoing issue — the governor can call us back for a special session, and we’ll address that through a separate process,” he continued.

PCB TED 26-02, unanimously approved by the House, received resounding support from Democrats — creating an unusual alignment of House Republicans and the Democratic Party against Gov. Ron DeSantis.

It’s only the latest attempt by the House to directly challenge and limit the governor’s authority, amid their year-long battle for power.

The DeSantis administration has bitterly opposed the measure on social media.

“@GovRonDeSantis—in part through his emergency powers—has lead [sic] the country in combatting illegal immigration and its dangers. So…let’s take this authority away? Moronic,” Attorney General James Uthmeier posted on X over the weekend.

“Florida House ‘Republicans’ are trying to defund Alligator Alcatraz and other detainment centers across the state. Floridians did not vote for this,” echoed Alex Lanfranconi, press secretary to the governor.

What does it do?

The bill, a conforming measure to the House’s budget proposal, would recreate the fund, providing that only natural disasters — such as hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods — would be eligible for the fund’s dollars.

The governor’s office would be responsible for a quarterly report on the trust’s financial health, and any federal reimbursements to the fund would have to be deposited in the Legislature’s General Revenue Fund. Purchases of aircraft or boats from the trust would be prohibited. The bill sets the expiration date for the fund at July 1, 2030.

But first, the existing version of the fund will expire at midnight on Tuesday. The Senate last week voted to keep the fund as is, meaning the chambers wouldn’t be able to agree in time.

The fund was created in 2022 to let the governor quickly pay for emergencies without legislative approval. So, when Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2023 declared an ongoing state of emergency for immigration, that allowed the Florida Division of Emergency Management to begin drawing heavily from the trust.

Since 2023, the agency has spent more than $573 million on immigration enforcement, $406 million of which it spent in six months. These costs included the state’s two migrant detention centers along with private jet flights, restaurant meals, and legal fees, the Phoenix previously reported.

Democrats on Monday railed against these expenditures, calling it an “abuse” of public money and likening the trust to becoming a “slush fund.”

Griffits disagreed with Democrats’ characterization, although he argued the fund should only be used for the perennial problems of natural disasters.

“That [immigration] problem is going away with President Trump. He has shut the flow down,” Griffits said. “There’s no point in slowing this fund down just to fight about those issues that come and go.”

–Liv Caputo, Florida Phoenix