DeSantis spent $573 million on immigration. The feds may never pay Florida back
By Kate Payne | The Tributary
February 6, 2026 at 9:55 PM EST
Months after federal officials publicly committed to awarding Florida more than half a billion dollars to cover immigration enforcement costs, attorneys for the federal government appear to be backtracking on the grant award.
The Trump’s administration’s shift, revealed quietly in court records, could leave Florida taxpayers on the hook.
Attorneys representing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have for months worked to cast doubt on the grant award, describing plans to provide federal funding as “unrealized” and “legally insufficient.”
In legal filings this week, U.S. Department of Justice attorneys argued that no “final federal funding decision” had been made by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“The existence of a state application is only a preliminary step towards a final federal funding decision, and FEMA has not made that ultimate decision even now,” attorneys wrote.
The administration’s actions are adding to concerns that the state may not be reimbursed for its unprecedented spending to carry out federal immigration enforcement.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis promised that the federal government would pay back Florida taxpayers, and the state has already spent at least $573 million carrying out federal immigration duties, including constructing the hastily-built immigration detention facility in the remote Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The legal developments come as a top DeSantis official faced substantive questions from Florida lawmakers this week about immigration spending.
The heightened scrutiny comes as even some Republicans are bracing for the possibility that Trump’s FEMA won’t reimburse Florida.
“I don’t trust FEMA to do it,” said Republican state Sen. Ed Hooper, the chamber’s budget chair. “I hope they do what’s right.”
A multi-billion dollar emergency fund
Some state and local officials were initially caught off guard last year by the administration’s plans to build Alligator Alcatraz, the sprawling makeshift facility of tents and trailers at an isolated airstrip in the swamp.
Legislators are now being asked to reauthorize a multi-billion dollar fund controlled by the governor that was used to build the facility.
That fund was created to help the state quickly respond to hurricanes and other emergencies.
Critics say the fund has been exploited to direct millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to Republican political donors.
“My reason for opposing the creation of this emergency response fund was because I feared that it would be abused. I feared that it would be exploited for political purposes. And I regret that many of those fears have become reality,” said Democratic state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith. “They’ve actually become nightmares, if I’m being honest.”
A $608 million reimbursement request
Trump administration officials initially pledged to reimburse Florida for its unprecedented efforts to carry out federal immigration enforcement.
Government documents and internal emails brought to light in a federal lawsuit filed by environmentalists indicate that federal officials awarded the state a $608 million grant to cover immigration enforcement expenses, effective Sept. 30, 2025.
“Congratulations on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security, your application submitted for the Fiscal Year 2025 Detention Support Grant Program, has been approved in the amount of $608,400,000.00 in Federal funding,” reads the letter from a DHS grants administrator to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the state agency that has spearheaded the construction and operation of the detention facility.
“We were right; media was wrong…” DeSantis posted on social media on Oct. 2, 2025, referencing previous news reports that questioned whether federal funds for the facility would come through.
Four months later, the state is still waiting to be reimbursed.
The entrance to the 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigrant detention center, in the Everglades. (5712x4284, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
State says DOJ is holding up funding
FDEM Director Kevin Guthrie, who has overseen the construction and operation of the Everglades facility, told reporters on Thursday that following the Sept. 30 notice, federal officials amended the grant agreement before giving the “final award” in December.
But that reimbursement is “right now held up by the Department of Justice,” Guthrie said.
“I can’t speak for the Department of Justice,” Guthrie said. “I don’t know why they’re holding that up.”
The question of federal funding is at issue in the lawsuit brought by Friends of the Everglades and other environmental groups, who allege that government officials violated federal law when they failed to conduct an environmental review before building the facility.
A federal district judge agreed, ordering the facility to wind down its operations, before an appeals court panel halted the order.
DOJ attorneys have argued that the facility is state-managed — and because it hasn’t received any federal funding, the federal environmental law should not apply.
Attorneys for the environmental groups, meanwhile, maintain the evidence is clear: DHS awarded Florida the grant.
Additionally, the groups say, records suggest that state and federal officials are working together to alter the “method and timing of federal funding” in order to “conform to their litigation positions in this case.”
“The fact is that just as the district court found, this facility required federal environmental review from the beginning because it’s an ICE detention center. No delay in disbursing federal funds affects that reality,” said Tania Galloni, an attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental law organization representing plaintiffs in the case.
Representatives for DOJ did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for DHS said the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Lawmakers question billions in spending
The recent court filings come as Florida officials recently disclosed new details of the staggering costs of state-led enforcement of federal immigration law.
So far, DeSantis’ administration has spent at least $573 million for immigration efforts over the past three years, including at the Everglades facility — without needing approval by state lawmakers, thanks to the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund created by the Legislature in 2022.
That total was disclosed in a report provided to legislative leaders last week, detailing publicly for the first time how the DeSantis administration has used billions from the fund, which allows the governor to spend on declared emergencies without lawmakers having to sign off on specifics.
Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” spending was enabled by an emergency declaration related to immigration that DeSantis first issued on Jan. 6, 2023 — and has extended 20 times since then.
On Thursday, Guthrie, the director of the state’s emergency management agency, faced questions from lawmakers, as a bill that would reauthorize the emergency fund was debated in the Republican-controlled Senate. A similar bill has yet to be taken up in the House.
Over the past four years, lawmakers have transferred a total of $4.77 billion into the emergency fund, though Guthrie told lawmakers that his agency has actually spent about $1.8 billion more than that, fueled by other federal reimbursements to the account.
The authorization for the emergency fund is slated to expire on Feb. 17 if lawmakers don’t renew it. Supporters maintain the fund is still needed to quickly respond to crises in a hurricane-prone state – and is an improvement over how the state operated in the past, when the emergency management agency would simply spend at a deficit.
Still, less than a year after a contentious legislative session that lasted 45 extra days as lawmakers battled over line items in the state budget, Smith asked his colleagues how they can defend reauthorizing what he said amounts to a “slush fund” — with little oversight by legislators.
“How many schools are we unable to fund because it’s being spent on immigration enforcement?” Smith asked.
“How many water projects can we fund?” he added. “How much infrastructure can we improve in our districts? How many member projects won’t get funded because we’re doing this instead?”
No additional guardrails
Smith and other Democrats urged their colleagues in the GOP-controlled Legislature to create new restrictions on the fund, such as limiting its use to just natural disasters or pandemics, requiring competitive bidding, or placing constraints on how long the governor can extend an emergency declaration.
“We have given up oversight,” said Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky. “Yes we got a report, but the money’s been spent. So what’s the difference?”
“I am not against this fund for quick disbursement of monies for a natural disaster,” Polsky added. “I am against the way this fund has been used and abused for a political issue.”
Ultimately, the Senate panel advanced the bill without any additional guardrails in place.
Kate Payne is The Tributary’s state government reporter. She can be reached at kate.payne@floridatrib.org.
The Trump’s administration’s shift, revealed quietly in court records, could leave Florida taxpayers on the hook.
Attorneys representing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have for months worked to cast doubt on the grant award, describing plans to provide federal funding as “unrealized” and “legally insufficient.”
In legal filings this week, U.S. Department of Justice attorneys argued that no “final federal funding decision” had been made by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“The existence of a state application is only a preliminary step towards a final federal funding decision, and FEMA has not made that ultimate decision even now,” attorneys wrote.
The administration’s actions are adding to concerns that the state may not be reimbursed for its unprecedented spending to carry out federal immigration enforcement.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis promised that the federal government would pay back Florida taxpayers, and the state has already spent at least $573 million carrying out federal immigration duties, including constructing the hastily-built immigration detention facility in the remote Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The legal developments come as a top DeSantis official faced substantive questions from Florida lawmakers this week about immigration spending.
The heightened scrutiny comes as even some Republicans are bracing for the possibility that Trump’s FEMA won’t reimburse Florida.
“I don’t trust FEMA to do it,” said Republican state Sen. Ed Hooper, the chamber’s budget chair. “I hope they do what’s right.”
A multi-billion dollar emergency fund
Some state and local officials were initially caught off guard last year by the administration’s plans to build Alligator Alcatraz, the sprawling makeshift facility of tents and trailers at an isolated airstrip in the swamp.
Legislators are now being asked to reauthorize a multi-billion dollar fund controlled by the governor that was used to build the facility.
That fund was created to help the state quickly respond to hurricanes and other emergencies.
Critics say the fund has been exploited to direct millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to Republican political donors.
“My reason for opposing the creation of this emergency response fund was because I feared that it would be abused. I feared that it would be exploited for political purposes. And I regret that many of those fears have become reality,” said Democratic state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith. “They’ve actually become nightmares, if I’m being honest.”
A $608 million reimbursement request
Trump administration officials initially pledged to reimburse Florida for its unprecedented efforts to carry out federal immigration enforcement.
Government documents and internal emails brought to light in a federal lawsuit filed by environmentalists indicate that federal officials awarded the state a $608 million grant to cover immigration enforcement expenses, effective Sept. 30, 2025.
“Congratulations on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security, your application submitted for the Fiscal Year 2025 Detention Support Grant Program, has been approved in the amount of $608,400,000.00 in Federal funding,” reads the letter from a DHS grants administrator to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the state agency that has spearheaded the construction and operation of the detention facility.
“We were right; media was wrong…” DeSantis posted on social media on Oct. 2, 2025, referencing previous news reports that questioned whether federal funds for the facility would come through.
Four months later, the state is still waiting to be reimbursed.
The entrance to the 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigrant detention center, in the Everglades. (5712x4284, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
State says DOJ is holding up funding
FDEM Director Kevin Guthrie, who has overseen the construction and operation of the Everglades facility, told reporters on Thursday that following the Sept. 30 notice, federal officials amended the grant agreement before giving the “final award” in December.
But that reimbursement is “right now held up by the Department of Justice,” Guthrie said.
“I can’t speak for the Department of Justice,” Guthrie said. “I don’t know why they’re holding that up.”
The question of federal funding is at issue in the lawsuit brought by Friends of the Everglades and other environmental groups, who allege that government officials violated federal law when they failed to conduct an environmental review before building the facility.
A federal district judge agreed, ordering the facility to wind down its operations, before an appeals court panel halted the order.
DOJ attorneys have argued that the facility is state-managed — and because it hasn’t received any federal funding, the federal environmental law should not apply.
Attorneys for the environmental groups, meanwhile, maintain the evidence is clear: DHS awarded Florida the grant.
Additionally, the groups say, records suggest that state and federal officials are working together to alter the “method and timing of federal funding” in order to “conform to their litigation positions in this case.”
“The fact is that just as the district court found, this facility required federal environmental review from the beginning because it’s an ICE detention center. No delay in disbursing federal funds affects that reality,” said Tania Galloni, an attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental law organization representing plaintiffs in the case.
Representatives for DOJ did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for DHS said the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Lawmakers question billions in spending
The recent court filings come as Florida officials recently disclosed new details of the staggering costs of state-led enforcement of federal immigration law.
So far, DeSantis’ administration has spent at least $573 million for immigration efforts over the past three years, including at the Everglades facility — without needing approval by state lawmakers, thanks to the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund created by the Legislature in 2022.
That total was disclosed in a report provided to legislative leaders last week, detailing publicly for the first time how the DeSantis administration has used billions from the fund, which allows the governor to spend on declared emergencies without lawmakers having to sign off on specifics.
Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” spending was enabled by an emergency declaration related to immigration that DeSantis first issued on Jan. 6, 2023 — and has extended 20 times since then.
On Thursday, Guthrie, the director of the state’s emergency management agency, faced questions from lawmakers, as a bill that would reauthorize the emergency fund was debated in the Republican-controlled Senate. A similar bill has yet to be taken up in the House.
Over the past four years, lawmakers have transferred a total of $4.77 billion into the emergency fund, though Guthrie told lawmakers that his agency has actually spent about $1.8 billion more than that, fueled by other federal reimbursements to the account.
The authorization for the emergency fund is slated to expire on Feb. 17 if lawmakers don’t renew it. Supporters maintain the fund is still needed to quickly respond to crises in a hurricane-prone state – and is an improvement over how the state operated in the past, when the emergency management agency would simply spend at a deficit.
Still, less than a year after a contentious legislative session that lasted 45 extra days as lawmakers battled over line items in the state budget, Smith asked his colleagues how they can defend reauthorizing what he said amounts to a “slush fund” — with little oversight by legislators.
“How many schools are we unable to fund because it’s being spent on immigration enforcement?” Smith asked.
“How many water projects can we fund?” he added. “How much infrastructure can we improve in our districts? How many member projects won’t get funded because we’re doing this instead?”
No additional guardrails
Smith and other Democrats urged their colleagues in the GOP-controlled Legislature to create new restrictions on the fund, such as limiting its use to just natural disasters or pandemics, requiring competitive bidding, or placing constraints on how long the governor can extend an emergency declaration.
“We have given up oversight,” said Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky. “Yes we got a report, but the money’s been spent. So what’s the difference?”
“I am not against this fund for quick disbursement of monies for a natural disaster,” Polsky added. “I am against the way this fund has been used and abused for a political issue.”
Ultimately, the Senate panel advanced the bill without any additional guardrails in place.
Kate Payne is The Tributary’s state government reporter. She can be reached at kate.payne@floridatrib.org.