Ron DeSantis has been making big claims about his immigration detention center.
He thought he could control the narrative forever.
But Ron DeSantis got caught in one lie about ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ that could end his career.
DOJ drops bombshell that contradicts DeSantis’s repeated claims
The Department of Justice just handed Ron DeSantis the worst news of his political career.
Federal attorneys filed a court document Thursday that completely destroys everything DeSantis has been saying about his Florida immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz."
The DOJ revealed that many detainees at the facility have never even been in removal proceedings – meaning they haven’t gone through the legal process to determine if they should be deported.
That directly contradicts months of public statements from DeSantis claiming every single person at the facility already has a final deportation order.
"Everybody here is already on a final removal order," DeSantis declared during a July 25 news conference outside the detention center. "They have been ordered to be removed from the country."
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1948765827177574417
At a July 29 speech before the Florida Sheriffs Association conference, DeSantis doubled down on his claims.
"The people that are going to the Alligator Alcatraz are illegally in the country," DeSantis stated. "They’ve all already been given a final order of removal."
The Governor even challenged critics by asking, "So, if you have an order to be removed, what is the possible objection to the federal government enforcing that removal order?"
Now federal lawyers are saying that’s completely false.
Federal attorneys expose the truth about who’s really detained
The DOJ filing reveals the uncomfortable truth DeSantis hoped would never come to light.
The detention center houses people "in all stages of immigration processing" – including those who have never been in removal proceedings, those waiting for hearings, and those with final deportation orders.
"The proposed class includes all detainees at Alligator Alcatraz, a facility that houses detainees in all stages of immigration processing – presumably including those who have never been in removal proceedings," DOJ attorneys wrote.
They’re making this argument to fight a civil rights lawsuit claiming detainees can’t get proper access to lawyers.
But in trying to prevent the lawsuit from becoming a class action, federal lawyers accidentally exposed DeSantis’s deception.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1963688691542401406
The Governor built his entire defense of the controversial facility around the claim that everyone there already went through due process.
That talking point just got obliterated by his own federal government.
DeSantis’s press office has gone silent – they didn’t respond to reporters seeking comment about the contradiction.
The political fallout could be devastating
This isn’t just an embarrassing correction – it’s a potential career killer for DeSantis.
DeSantis has positioned himself as someone who gets results without the drama.
But getting caught making false claims about a detention center holding potentially innocent people destroys that carefully crafted image.
Immigration hardliners who supported DeSantis will question whether he actually knows what’s happening in his own state.
Meanwhile, critics now have proof that DeSantis was either lying about the facility or doesn’t have control over federal operations in Florida.
The timing couldn’t be worse for DeSantis, who’s already struggling with questions about his political future after his failed presidential campaign.
President Trump toured the Alligator Alcatraz facility in July and praised it as a potential model for future detention centers nationwide.
Federal officials confirmed on Friday that Florida has been approved for a $608 million reimbursement for building and running the center.
But Trump’s endorsement won’t help DeSantis if it turns out the facility was holding people without proper legal justification.
Look, this is exactly what happens when politicians try to play fast and loose with the facts about immigration enforcement.
DeSantis thought he could control the narrative by making sweeping claims about who was detained at his facility.
Instead, he created a paper trail of statements that federal lawyers just used against him in court.
The Governor bet his credibility on claims he apparently couldn’t back up – and now that bet is coming due.
For a politician whose brand depends on competence and attention to detail, this kind of fundamental error about his own signature immigration project could be the beginning of the end.
¹ Mike Schneider, "DOJ contradicts DeSantis: Some detainees at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ likely never in removal proceedings," Associated Press, October 6, 2025.
² Brooke Shafer, "Civil suit grows as DOJ disputes DeSantis immigration claims," NewsNation, October 7, 2025.
³ Yelena Mandenberg, "DOJ reveals some Alligator Alcatraz detainees never entered removal process," The Mirror US, October 6, 2025.
