Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference at "Alligator Alcatraz" on Thursday morning and confirmed that the mission at the controversial immigration detention facility was completed and all the detainees have been relocated.
DeSantis made the announcement alongside White House Border Czar Tom Homan, and Florida State Board of Immigration Enforcement Executive Director Anthony Coker at the isolated facility in the Florida Everglades.
During the news conference, DeSantis said that "Alligator Alcatraz" was always meant to be temporary until more detention centers could be located – and that has occurred.
"It served its purpose for the time," DeSantis said on Thursday.
Earlier this week, CBS News Miami's Jim DeFede reported that vendors hired by the state to operate "Alligator Alcatraz" were notified that they were to begin "full demobilization" of the facility, quietly bringing a close to the $1.2 billion experiment that had once been hailed by DeSantis and President Donald Trump as a model that other states should pursue, according to sources.