Florida officials have begun dismantling the migrant detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz," marking the likely end of a controversial state-run detention operation in the Everglades that became a focal point of the state's immigration enforcement efforts and cost taxpayers more than $1.2 billion.

Contractors hired to operate the facility were instructed to begin "full demobilization" of the site, according to reports from CBS News Miami and other outlets. Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie notified vendors that the state expected rapid progress in removing infrastructure from the facility, which was built at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Everglades.

The move comes less than a week after federal and state officials transferred the remaining detainees to other facilities, citing safety concerns as the Atlantic hurricane season begins. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that all detainees had been relocated from the site.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Monday that the facility had fulfilled its purpose.

"I think Alligator Alcatraz actually stayed open longer than it was intentionally planned when it was first conceptualized," Uthmeier told reporters.

"Now that the federal government is resourced and standing up its own mission, using its own authorities, it is no longer necessary, and the plan has always been to protect the Everglades and take it back to a protected area where it's not a commercial business, an airport," he said.

The detention center opened in July 2025 after being constructed in less than a week on a remote airstrip deep within the Everglades. The site quickly became a symbol of Florida's aggressive immigration policies and was promoted by President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and other Republican officials as a model for large-scale migrant detention.

The facility was designed to support federal immigration enforcement efforts and house thousands of detainees awaiting deportation proceedings. During its operation, more than 22,000 migrants reportedly passed through the center, according to state officials.

DeSantis recently defended the facility's role in Florida's immigration strategy, saying it had served a "huge, huge" purpose by detaining migrants who otherwise might have been released into communities throughout the state. The governor previously indicated the site was always intended to be temporary.

The detention center also generated sustained criticism from environmental groups, immigrant advocates, and civil rights organizations, which challenged the project in court and raised concerns about conditions inside the facility and its impact on the fragile Everglades ecosystem.

Although detainees have been removed and contractors are beginning to dismantle the site, environmental groups said legal challenges will continue until the property is fully restored.

Attorney Paul Schwiep, who represents groups challenging the project, welcomed the removal of detainees but said restoration remains the primary objective.

"The goal is to have them do what the governor said they'd do from the outset: Use [the land] temporarily, and that's apparently run its course now and return the site to the condition it was in before they began to use it for this purpose," Schwiep said.

State officials have said the dismantling process will include removing fencing, trailers, and other temporary structures erected at the site. Once demobilization is complete, the property is expected to return to its previous use as a training airport.