Florida has signed more than $250 million in contracts to build "Alligator Alcatraz", according to records from the state's contract tracking system.

The contested migrant detention center is the first of its kind in the US, but other states are interested in building similar sites of their own

A wildfire broke out Tuesday evening near Alligator Alley in the US state of Florida. Firefighters and authorities are working to bring the situation in the Everglades under control. Thick smoke is significantly worsening the air quality in the area.

Other ICE detention centers like Alligator Alcatraz have been under consideration for other locations, including in North Florida, Indiana and Nebraska.

A hiker has been hospitalized after an alligator attacked and bit her on a Florida hiking trail, authorities say. The woman, who has not been identified, was hiking on the Bird Rookery Swamp Trail in Collier County, between Naples and Fort Myers, when the incident took place on Sunday, August 17.

A baby alligator found itself in the wrong kind of swamp this week when Alachua County Sheriff's deputies were called to an apartment complex in Gainesville, Florida. On Tuesday morning, Deputies E. Miller and J.

An alligator shot dead in a truck led to wildlife officers shutting down an illegal gator-hunting operation in Florida, authorities said. Five people have been arrested, and four of them now have ICE detainers, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Orlando Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost delivered sharp criticism of the site, describing it as "inhumane" and calling for it to be shut down.