In a bold new move that is reshaping the national conversation around immigration enforcement, the Trump administration has announced a $608 million funding initiative to help states build migrant detention facilities modeled after Florida’s controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” compound.
The funding is part of a new federal grant program aimed at rapidly expanding temporary detention capacity, bypassing lengthy contracting procedures, and placing more control in the hands of state governments.
The program, officially dubbed the Detention Support Grant Program (DEP), is operated under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to FEMA documents released Friday, states and local governments have until August 8 to apply for grant funds under the initiative, which falls under the umbrella of FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program.
“This is a game-changer,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in a Friday briefing. “Alligator Alcatraz was built in just eight days, houses 3,000 detainees, and stands as proof that with the right leadership, states can step up and take real action. The time for relying solely on federal contractors is over.”
The new model is based on the Florida facility near the Dade-Collier Airport in the Everglades—nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” for its isolated, swamp-surrounded location.
Constructed in a record eight days earlier this year, the facility has drawn both praise and criticism for its aggressive approach to detaining undocumented migrants.
The site is fortified with layered fencing, surveillance infrastructure, and natural barriers including miles of uninhabitable wetland. Florida officials say the location offers enhanced security by virtue of its geographic isolation, and stress that it meets federal humanitarian and legal standards for detention.
With a reported annual operating cost of $450 million, Florida is currently seeking FEMA reimbursement under the new DEP guidelines to help offset the burden.
President Trump visited the Florida facility on July 1 and praised its efficiency and deterrent effect. “This is how you do it—professional, fast, secure. You’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” he said during a press appearance. “We want to see this in many states.”
According to Secretary Noem, five states are already in discussions with DHS to replicate the Alligator Alcatraz model. While she did not name the states during her announcement, sources familiar with the program told Fox News Digital that Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana are among those actively exploring the construction of similar detention compounds.
“We’ve had several other states that are actually using Alligator Alcatraz as a model for how they can partner with us,” Noem said. “I hope my phone rings off the hook from governors calling and saying, ‘How can we do what Florida just did?’”
DHS officials said that each new facility would be built in close coordination with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with oversight from FEMA. Funds are specifically designated for temporary secure facilities that can be rapidly constructed on state or local government land.
Part of what makes the DEP grant program unique is its emphasis on speed. In the past, federal detention facilities have faced years-long procurement and environmental review processes, often tied up by contractor bidding and legal challenges.
Under the new initiative, states are empowered to move forward using simplified emergency construction protocols, dramatically shortening timelines.
“This is not about building permanent federal structures,” Noem said. “This is about fast, legal, state-based solutions to a very real crisis. We need more beds now, not in five years.”
Critics of the federal procurement system have pointed to the Alligator Alcatraz model as a successful deviation from the norm. “They were willing to build it and do it much quicker than some of the other vendors,” Noem said of Florida’s state-led construction team. “And it was a real solution we’ll be able to utilize if we need to.”
The announcement comes as ICE faces a dramatic surge in detention numbers. As of June, more than 56,000 migrants were in federal custody, marking the highest total since 2019. DHS planning materials suggest ICE is aiming to double its detention capacity to 100,000 beds by the end of 2025.
In recent months, a surge in border crossings, particularly by individuals from Venezuela, Haiti, and Central America, has placed renewed pressure on federal facilities already strained by logistical and legal limitations.
The Trump administration has blamed Biden-era immigration policies for encouraging the influx and has promised a sharp reversal in approach—including increased deportations, tougher parole requirements, and expanded detention efforts.
“We are not going to be caught flat-footed again,” Trump said during his Florida visit. “The open borders insanity is over. This is about protecting Americans, securing our borders, and enforcing the law.”
Despite growing momentum among Republican-led states, the plan is not without opposition. Immigrant rights groups have blasted the Alligator Alcatraz model as inhumane, and have questioned the safety, transparency, and legal justification for constructing detention centers in remote areas with limited access to oversight.
“It’s deeply disturbing to see the federal government endorsing these isolated compounds as a solution to immigration,” said Maribel Hernandez, policy director at Immigrant Justice Now. “Detaining people in swampland, far from attorneys, journalists, and medical support, is not reform—it’s regression.”
Hernandez added that placing detention facilities in inaccessible areas makes it harder for detainees to assert their legal rights or receive necessary services, and she accused the administration of bypassing humanitarian standards in the name of efficiency.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has already signaled it may file lawsuits against states attempting to adopt the Alligator Alcatraz model, arguing that such facilities could violate detainees’ due process and Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
But Trump allies have pushed back hard against that characterization.
“This isn’t about cruelty—it’s about control,” said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL). “We’re talking about people who crossed the border illegally. We have every right, and every obligation, to detain and deport. These facilities are legal, safe, and effective.”
The funding announcement arrives at a pivotal moment in the national immigration debate. With the 2026 midterms on the horizon and Trump widely expected to seek a third non-consecutive term in 2028, the issue of border enforcement remains a defining theme of his political brand.
Already, campaign surrogates are highlighting the Alligator Alcatraz model as proof that Trump’s America First strategy delivers tangible results. “While Biden dithers, Trump builds,” said campaign spokesperson Rachel Foster. “We’re taking action, state by state, swamp by swamp.”
Democrats, however, remain deeply critical. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the grant program “a dark chapter in American immigration policy,” and accused the administration of using FEMA to promote what he called “quasi-militarized refugee camps.”
But with DHS already reporting talks underway in multiple states and FEMA opening its application process for funds, the program appears to be advancing rapidly—with or without bipartisan support.
Whether or not the “Alligator Alcatraz” model becomes the new national standard for immigration detention remains to be seen. But for now, the Trump administration is sending a clear message: federal enforcement will be aggressive, decentralized, and fast.
“We are not going to wait for broken Washington bureaucracy to catch up with reality,” said Noem. “If states want to protect their communities and enforce the law, we will give them the tools—and the money—to do it.”
With $608 million on the table and a growing sense of urgency, the race to replicate Florida’s detention success is officially underway. And for many in the Trump administration, it marks just the beginning of a much larger crackdown.
