Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shredded a local media report Wednesday, saying it had failed to properly report on the migrant detention facility many call "Alligator Alcatraz."
The Miami Herald reported Tuesday in a piece headlined, "Florida has no formal hurricane plan for Alligator Alcatraz," that "After weeks of requests from politicians and media, the state of Florida said it has no formal, completed plan for how to handle a hurricane at Alligator Alcatraz, the new immigrant detention site in the heart of the Everglades."
It further said, "Two weeks ago, the Miami Herald requested ‘the completed hurricane/disaster plan for Alligator Alcatraz’ from the Florida Department of Emergency Management. On Monday, department spokesperson Stephanie Hartman confirmed that no such record exists."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks about his proposal for Florida to become the first state to abolish property taxes during a news conference at the Florida REALTORS headquarters in Orlando, Florida, on March 31, 2025. ((Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))
Another local news outlet, Florida’s Voice Radio, however, shared screenshots of a document from Florida’s Safety Emergency Response Team regarding the South Florida Detention Facility Continuity of Operations Plan.
"WRONG AGAIN! The Miami Herald reports FAKE NEWS that @GovRonDeSantis, @KevinGuthrieFL and @FLSERT have no ‘formal hurricane plan’ for Alligator Alcatraz. Here it is," Florida’s Voice Radio wrote.
It went on to ask, "What kind of news outlet thinks FLORIDA of all places is not prepared for hurricanes?"
DeSantis retweeted the post and ripped the Miami Herald, writing, "Legacy media made a mistake by concocting a false narrative that can so easily be disproven… Failed drive-by attempt…"
The Miami Herald then updated its piece.
An aerial view of a migrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," is seen located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida on July 7, 2025. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
"On Wednesday, after this story published, Florida released a heavily redacted draft version of a hurricane plan," the article now says. "The 32-page document contained no new details and cited confidentiality exemptions to Florida’s public records laws to exclude the majority of the document."