Contracts Show Millions of Dollars and Diverted Disaster Resources Were Used to Build DeSantis’ ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Contracts Show Millions of Dollars and Diverted Disaster Resources Were Used to Build DeSantis’ ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
By Hunter Walker/Talking Points Memo
July 16, 2025 11:21 a.m
TPM has obtained and analyzed over a dozen contracts and invoices related to the construction and operation of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention camp in the Everglades. The documents identify eight previously undisclosed companies — including two firms with a Fortune 500 pedigree — involved with the controversial facility. They also show that, in at least one instance, resources allocated for the state’s “disaster preparedness” apparatus were diverted to the site as DeSantis’ office used emergency powers to quickly establish the camp, causing a shortfall that needs to be addressed during the ongoing hurricane season.
The camp was first announced by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is DeSantis’ former chief of staff and was manager of the governor’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign, late last month. The state began to move quickly to stand it up. That quick pace was captured by the contracts, which included at least one with “rush” fees, the diverted disaster resources, and indications the facility was still being built out and supplied after it was officially opened on July 1.
In the weeks since plans for the site were revealed, opponents have raised alarms about its potential environmental impact, whether it would afford due process to detainees, and the harsh conditions in the swampy region. There have also been concerns about transparency, including attorneys’ access to the people being held and the identities of the firms that received contracts for equipment and services provided to the facility.
TPM has identified contracts and invoices totaling $19,983,785.03 in the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System (FACTS) that were issued to nine different firms. In one instance, the chief executive of a company contacted by TPM stated that he was unaware the business’ products were being used for the detention camp.
The FACTS system, which is maintained by the state’s Department of Financial Services, lists all of these contracts and invoices as coming from the executive office of the governor and categorizes them as “Emergency procurement per Executive Order.” At points during the reporting of this story, TPM observed figures changing on the FACTS website. It is not certain the figures cited in these contracts represent the final amount paid. For 11 of the contracts and invoices in this story, PDF files of the “original” were initially available in FACTS. All of those PDF files were removed during the course of our reporting. Except in one instance, all of the data cited in this story is from these “original” documents. The Department of Financial Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DeSantis is building the facility, which will reportedly cost at least $450 million a year, by leveraging an ongoing state of emergency that he first declared with an executive order in early 2023 in response to what he described as an “alarming influx of migrants.” All of the contracts and invoices cited by TPM mention “TNT,” an acronym which has been used to describe the site of the camp, which was constructed at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
One of the contracts, which the system identified as being created on July 1, provided for $499,869.60 to be paid to Baker’s Electronics & Communications Inc. for an “Atlas trunked radio system,” a platform often used by public safety agencies for critical and emergency communications. The contract specified that the system was for the “TNT” facility and that the “Atlas systems deployed at the site” were “pulled from disaster preparedness platform” [sic]. The document further indicated that, as a result of radio systems from the state’s emergency infrastructure being “pulled” to “Alligator Alcatraz,” the system needed to “be back-filled to prevent a response gap during hurricane season given the unknown duration of detention center operation.”
While the contract outlined a plan to address the issue, it also indicated the push to quickly supply the detention camp led to a shortfall of necessary disaster preparedness equipment during hurricane season, which runs from June 1 until November 30.
Douglas Baker, the CEO of Baker’s Communications, did not respond to a request for comment from TPM. DeSantis’ office also did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
By Hunter Walker/Talking Points Memo
July 16, 2025 11:21 a.m
TPM has obtained and analyzed over a dozen contracts and invoices related to the construction and operation of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention camp in the Everglades. The documents identify eight previously undisclosed companies — including two firms with a Fortune 500 pedigree — involved with the controversial facility. They also show that, in at least one instance, resources allocated for the state’s “disaster preparedness” apparatus were diverted to the site as DeSantis’ office used emergency powers to quickly establish the camp, causing a shortfall that needs to be addressed during the ongoing hurricane season.
The camp was first announced by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is DeSantis’ former chief of staff and was manager of the governor’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign, late last month. The state began to move quickly to stand it up. That quick pace was captured by the contracts, which included at least one with “rush” fees, the diverted disaster resources, and indications the facility was still being built out and supplied after it was officially opened on July 1.
In the weeks since plans for the site were revealed, opponents have raised alarms about its potential environmental impact, whether it would afford due process to detainees, and the harsh conditions in the swampy region. There have also been concerns about transparency, including attorneys’ access to the people being held and the identities of the firms that received contracts for equipment and services provided to the facility.
TPM has identified contracts and invoices totaling $19,983,785.03 in the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System (FACTS) that were issued to nine different firms. In one instance, the chief executive of a company contacted by TPM stated that he was unaware the business’ products were being used for the detention camp.
The FACTS system, which is maintained by the state’s Department of Financial Services, lists all of these contracts and invoices as coming from the executive office of the governor and categorizes them as “Emergency procurement per Executive Order.” At points during the reporting of this story, TPM observed figures changing on the FACTS website. It is not certain the figures cited in these contracts represent the final amount paid. For 11 of the contracts and invoices in this story, PDF files of the “original” were initially available in FACTS. All of those PDF files were removed during the course of our reporting. Except in one instance, all of the data cited in this story is from these “original” documents. The Department of Financial Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DeSantis is building the facility, which will reportedly cost at least $450 million a year, by leveraging an ongoing state of emergency that he first declared with an executive order in early 2023 in response to what he described as an “alarming influx of migrants.” All of the contracts and invoices cited by TPM mention “TNT,” an acronym which has been used to describe the site of the camp, which was constructed at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
One of the contracts, which the system identified as being created on July 1, provided for $499,869.60 to be paid to Baker’s Electronics & Communications Inc. for an “Atlas trunked radio system,” a platform often used by public safety agencies for critical and emergency communications. The contract specified that the system was for the “TNT” facility and that the “Atlas systems deployed at the site” were “pulled from disaster preparedness platform” [sic]. The document further indicated that, as a result of radio systems from the state’s emergency infrastructure being “pulled” to “Alligator Alcatraz,” the system needed to “be back-filled to prevent a response gap during hurricane season given the unknown duration of detention center operation.”
While the contract outlined a plan to address the issue, it also indicated the push to quickly supply the detention camp led to a shortfall of necessary disaster preparedness equipment during hurricane season, which runs from June 1 until November 30.
Douglas Baker, the CEO of Baker’s Communications, did not respond to a request for comment from TPM. DeSantis’ office also did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
