The remote facility in the Everglades has been plagued by reports of unsanitary conditions and detainees being cut off from the legal system.

Florida taxpayers could be on the hook for $218 million the state spent to convert a remote training airport in the Everglades into an immigration detention centre dubbed “ Alligator Alcatraz.”

The centre may soon be completely empty as a judge upheld her decision late Wednesday ordering operations to wind down indefinitely.

Shutting down the facility for the time being would cost the state $15 million to $20 million immediately, and it would cost another $15 million to $20 million to reinstall structures if Florida is allowed to reopen it, according to court filings by the state.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management will lose most of the

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