'Alligator Alcatraz' emptying fast

A top Florida official says the controversial state-run immigration detention facility in the Everglades will probably be empty in a matter of days, even as Republican Gov.

- BY KATE PAYNE AND MIKE SCHNEIDER

THE EVERGLADES immigration detention facility officially opened on July 1.

Ron DeSantis' administration and the federal government fight a judge's order to shutter the facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" by late October. That's according to an email exchange shared with the Associated Press.

In a message sent to South Florida Rabbi Mario Rojzman on Aug. 22 related to providing chaplaincy services at the facility, Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said “we are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days.” Rojzman, and the executive assistant who sent the original email to Guthrie, both confirmed the veracity of the messages to the AP.

A spokesperson for Guthrie, whose agency has overseen the construction and operation of the site, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.