Progressive Politics

he federal detention facility in Florida, officially named “Alligator Alcatraz,” is only the beginning when it comes to FEMA money being used to fund ICE operations, according to a source within the federal agency. The new program, dubbed “the ICE grant” by FEMA employees, means that millions in grant funds intended for shelters and facilities for noncitizen migrants may now be redirected toward detention centers and whatever else ICE decides.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to the Associated Press on June 25 that the detention facility in Florida “will be funded in large part by the Shelter and Services Program within the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” The Alligator Alcatraz facility will cost $245 per bed daily, or $450 million per year, one U.S. official told the Associated Press. Internal FEMA documents, however, put the total grant awarded to the Florida Division of Emergency Management at $608.4 million.

The flow of cash from FEMA’s SSP program to states building ICE detention centers outlined by Noem, matches what a source within FEMA told Drop Site of the ICE grant: “it appears they’re taking the money intended for the SSP that Congress mandated via their old appropriations bill to a new grant program related to ICE so they can pay states.” States will then use the funds to develop ICE detention centers similar to the Everglades facility in Florida.