Ron DeSantis spent years telling Florida taxpayers not to worry about his immigration crackdown.
The Governor promised Washington would pick up the tab.
But Ron DeSantis burned through $573 million waiting for federal money that never came.
DeSantis built his detention empire on a federal promise
DeSantis declared a state of emergency on immigration back in January 2023.
That emergency declaration is still active more than 1,000 days later after he renewed it over a dozen times.
The emergency powers let DeSantis bypass normal rules on everything from environmental reviews to competitive bidding on contracts.
He seized land from Miami-Dade County for Alligator Alcatraz after the county rejected his purchase offer.
State contracts show Florida spent $573 million on immigration enforcement since 2023, according to a report the Division of Emergency Management delivered to the Legislature last week.
Nearly $30 million went to radios, helicopter engines, vans, and trailers.
The biggest chunk — $484 million — went to unnamed "projects" the report won't specify.
DeSantis handed out at least $225 million in no-bid contracts to politically connected firms to build Alligator Alcatraz.
The facility alone was estimated to cost $450 million per year to operate.
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Florida also runs another detention center at Baker Correctional Institution near Jacksonville that costs at least $101 million.
The federal checks still aren't in the mail
DeSantis made the same promise from day one.
"This is something that was requested by the federal government, and this is something that the federal government is going to fully fund," DeSantis said.
FEMA approved Florida's request for $608 million in September 2025.
That approval came four months ago.
Florida hasn't received a dime of it.
Court documents filed in December revealed the uncomfortable truth DeSantis didn't want taxpayers to know.
Federal attorneys wrote that no federal dollars have been spent on the facility's construction or operation.
The state's own lawyers backed that up in a separate filing.
They admitted federal funds were approved but never sent.
DeSantis keeps telling critics to be patient.
"It'll be resolved at some point and I have no doubt that the checks will be flowing," DeSantis said.
He changed his tune from "we're getting reimbursed" to "we'll get reimbursed eventually."
That's the language you use when you know the money isn't coming anytime soon.
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Texas spent twice as much but got smarter about it
Florida isn't the only state throwing money at immigration enforcement.
Texas has spent over $11 billion on Operation Lone Star since 2021.
That's roughly 20 times what Florida spent.
But Texas didn't front all that money hoping Washington would pay them back later.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates Texas, Arizona, Florida, and California combined spent $2.7 billion on border security in 2023 alone.
The difference is those states budgeted for immigration enforcement as a state expense from the start.
DeSantis built his entire operation on the promise of federal reimbursement.
Now Florida taxpayers are stuck with a $573 million bill while DeSantis plays public relations games about when the check might arrive.
ICE did send Florida $38.4 million in September for transportation and equipment costs.
That's pocket change compared to the half-billion Florida is owed.
The Trump Administration approved a massive $170.7 billion for immigration enforcement in the Big Beautiful Bill passed in July 2025.
That included $45 billion just for detention facilities.
But Florida still hasn't seen its cut.
The state emergency fund is running dry
DeSantis has been pulling money from Florida's Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund.
The Legislature created that fund in 2022 so the Governor could respond to disasters without waiting for approval.
Since then lawmakers put $4.77 billion into it.
The fund currently has just $209 million left.
Immigration enforcement is now the fourth-largest expense from the emergency fund behind Hurricanes Ian, Milton, and Helene.
State Senator Lori Berman said she would vote against reauthorizing the fund when it comes up for renewal.
"I never could have imagined that the governor would waste over half a billion dollars on a never-ending political emergency," Berman said.
The fund is set to expire at the end of February unless lawmakers vote to extend it through 2027.
State Senator Nick DiCeglie sponsored the bill requiring this spending report.
He said he was still "combing through" the details but the goal was transparency.
The report came two weeks late because the Division of Emergency Management missed the January 15 deadline required by law.
Florida also spent nearly $150 million on missions to evacuate Americans from Israel and Haiti.
One emergency response company sued the state last year claiming Florida hadn't paid more than $7.5 million for Haiti flights.
DeSantis created a legal nightmare by taking federal money
The federal reimbursement creates another problem for DeSantis beyond just getting the checks.
A federal appeals court ruled in September that Alligator Alcatraz doesn't have to undergo environmental impact studies.
The court said the National Environmental Policy Act doesn't apply because Florida built and paid for everything with state money.
If Florida takes federal reimbursement now, that ruling falls apart.
The facility would then be subject to environmental reviews that could shut it down permanently.
Environmental groups sued over building in the Everglades without proper studies.
The Miccosukee Tribe joined the lawsuit because the facility sits on ancestral lands.
DeSantis bypassed environmental reviews by using his emergency powers.
Amnesty International documented conditions at Alligator Alcatraz that included overflowing toilets, limited showers, insects, lights on 24 hours a day, and poor food and water.
"These findings confirm a deliberate system built to punish, dehumanize, and hide the suffering of people in detention," said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International's Regional Director for the Americas.
Trump visited Alligator Alcatraz on July 1, 2025 with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Trump said the facility will house some of the most vicious people on the planet.
Reporting from the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times found only a third of more than 700 detainees actually had criminal convictions.
More than 250 had no criminal history at all, just immigration violations.
Florida taxpayers are stuck holding the bag
DeSantis used his emergency powers to build a half-billion-dollar immigration enforcement operation.
He promised from day one the federal government would pay for all of it.
FEMA approved the reimbursement four months ago but Florida hasn't received any of it.
Court documents reveal federal attorneys consider those reimbursement plans inadequate to trigger environmental laws.
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The state's own lawyers admitted the money was approved but not disbursed.
DeSantis now says Florida will get paid "eventually" while refusing to say how much the state has actually spent.
If Florida takes the federal money, environmental lawsuits could shut down Alligator Alcatraz permanently.
If Florida doesn't take the money, taxpayers are stuck with a $573 million bill for a political stunt.
DeSantis built his detention empire by bypassing normal rules and spending emergency funds meant for hurricanes.
Now he can't get the federal government to cut the check he promised.
And Florida taxpayers are left wondering when "eventually" actually means.
Sources:
- Ray Lewis, "Florida spends over $500M on immigration enforcement, report shows," The National News Desk, February 4, 2026.
- Allison Bloom, "DeSantis burns through $600M on immigration leaving black hole in Florida's finances," Irish Star, February 4, 2026.
- Gary Fineout, "Report details Florida's $600M DeSantis-led immigration enforcement push," Politico, February 3, 2026.
- Ana Goñi-Lessan, "Florida waits on $573 million for reimbursement of immigration costs," USA TODAY NETWORK, February 4, 2026.
- "Alligator Alcatraz Cost Law, Lives, and Urgent State Priorities," Florida Policy Institute, 2025.
- Jamie Ostroff, "Florida taxpayers funding 'Alligator Alcatraz' despite federal reimbursement promises," WPTV, December 18, 2025.
- A.G. Gancarski, "Ron DeSantis expects Alligator Alcatraz reimbursement 'eventually,'" Florida Politics, September 26, 2025.
- Congressional Budget Office, "Effects of the Surge in Immigration on State and Local Budgets in 2023," 2024.
