Companies hired by the State of Florida to operate the migrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” received a notice on Monday to begin “full demobilization” of the facility.

“All vendors got the notice,” one source said, according to CBS News.

CBS News has more:

The announcement was made by Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s Emergency Management director, during a morning conference call with the vendors.

Guthrie told the vendors that he expected “significant progress by Wednesday” on clearing the site, according to one source.

The final few detainees left the facility last week, either being transferred to other detention centers or deported to third countries.

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Federal and state officials at the time said it was due to safety concerns over the start of hurricane season.

They even suggested the facility would remain ready to take on new detainees.

The primary reason for the facility’s shutdown is the increasing cost of maintaining operations.

The total cost is now estimated at roughly $1.2 billion.

“When it was first conceptualized, the federal government had not yet devoted money and resources towards immigration enforcement. It was never expected to be a long term thing,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said.

WINK News shared further:

At the time, DeSantis maintained that the state would be reimbursed by the federal government for all of its expenses.

However, that funding has yet to come through.

State officials submitted a $608 million request at the end of last year. It was eventually approved by federal officials, but the actual reimbursement has been held up because of court challenges, environmental concerns and other issues.

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