TALLAHASSEE – Earlier this month, the state of Florida opened a new immigration detention facility in the Everglades, which officials have named “Alligator Alcatraz.” A new poll commissioned through Blue Rose Research by Progress Florida and Florida Watch, collectively known as the Florida Communications and Research Hub (Hub), finds that a month after it opened, almost all Floridians are aware of the detention facility, with a plurality viewing the facility unfavorably and a strong majority opposed to the state’s use of taxpayer dollars from the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund to finance it at an annual cost of $450 million.
Eighty-nine percent of Floridians say they’ve heard at least a little about the facility, with 45% having heard a lot. Those aware of the facility report what they’ve heard as predominantly negative: 40% say what they’ve heard is mostly negative, 13% mostly positive, and 35% say it’s been a mix.
The facility’s favorability rating is 9 points underwater, with 43% of Floridians holding an unfavorable opinion and 34% favorable. Notably, those who view the facility strongly unfavorably (35%) nearly double those who rate it strongly favorably (18%).
Floridians are particularly opposed to how the facility is being paid for, with 59% saying they disapprove of using the state of Florida’s taxpayer-funded Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund to cover the $450 million annual cost, including 47% who strongly disapprove. Only 25% approve.
“With awareness of the state’s Everglades detention camp high, this survey makes it clear that Floridians have serious concerns with how their taxpayer dollars are being spent in light of the ongoing affordability issues impacting working families and seniors throughout the state,” said Progress Florida Executive Director Mark Ferrulo. “As we enter the heart of hurricane season, elected leaders in Florida should take note that their constituents do not believe the best use of their tax dollars is on an inhumane detention camp, but would rather those funds be available to those in need in the event of a natural disaster.”
“While news reports have highlighted the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars being directed to corporate elite campaign donors to run the makeshift Everglades detention camp, as well as the inhumane conditions for those being housed there, Floridians have taken notice,” stated Florida Watch Executive Director Natasha Sutherland. “With Florida seeking to be a national model for other states considering opening similar detention camps in their communities, those in positions of power should pay close attention to the fact that their constituents will not look favorably on their tax dollars being spent on political stunts instead of addressing the real issues that hardworking families are dealing with every day.”
Full toplines and methodology can be found here.
Crosstabs are available upon request.
The research memo from the Hub’s Research and Polling Department can be found below.
Date: July 30, 2025
To: Interested Parties
From: The Florida Communications and Research Hub
Subject: Alligator Alcatraz Survey of Florida Voters
Progress Florida and Florida Watch, collectively known as the Florida Communications and Research Hub (Hub), commissioned a poll of registered Florida voters conducted from July 25-27, 2025, to assess public sentiment towards Alligator Alcatraz, the new immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades. The results find near-universal public awareness of the facility just one month after its opening.
While opinions sharply divided along partisan lines, overall sentiment skews negative, with a plurality of voters indicating an unfavorable opinion of Alligator Alcatraz and expressing opposition to its recent opening. Notably, the use of taxpayer funds emerges as a major breaking point, drawing strong, widespread disapproval across demographic groups and revealing significant underlying reservations despite split overall support.
Key Takeaways
- 89% of Floridians say they have heard at least a little about Alligator Alcatraz, the new immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades, with nearly half saying they have heard ‘a lot’ about it.
- Among those who have heard about it, what they’ve heard has been mostly negative by a 3-to-1 margin: 40% report what they’ve heard about Alligator Alcatraz being mostly negative, compared to just 13% who say it’s been mostly positive. Another 35% say what they’ve heard has been a mix of positive and negative. Only 4% report seeing mostly neutral coverage.
- While the information environment is predominantly negative, individual opinions are more divided: 34% of Floridians view Alligator Alcatraz favorably while 43% view it unfavorably
- That said, there is a notable gap in intensity. Those who view Alligator Alcatraz strongly unfavorably (35%) nearly double those who rate it strongly favorably (18%), suggesting a more motivated base of opponents.
- Support for the opening of Alligator Alcatraz follows a similar pattern. Despite the near-even split (41% support, 43% oppose), opposition is more firmly entrenched, with 77% of opponents feeling strongly, compared to 59% of supporters.
- Where support falters the most is on the financing of Alligator Alcatraz: only 1-in-4 approve of using the state of Florida’s taxpayer-funded Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund to pay for Alligator Alcatraz at a cost of $450 million annually, while nearly 3-in-5 disapprove, including 47% who strongly disapprove. This negative sentiment is shared broadly across demographic groups.
- The coupling of strong and universal disapproval presents an underlying vulnerability in support, which could be susceptible to change if concerns about funding become more salient among the public.
- Lastly, respondents were given a forced choice between two perspectives (supporters and opponents) and asked which view was closer to their own. Results show 41% identified more with supporters, while 43% aligned more closely with opponents, mirroring earlier responses on support for opening the detention facility.
- Given the binary nature of the question, which forces a clear choice, divisions across demographic groups become more pronounced, providing a summarized view of the underlying differences throughout the survey.
- There is a striking, 21 point gender gap; women side with opponents, 47% to 36%, while men side with supporters, 48% to 38%.
- Younger Floridians under the age of 50 generally oppose, whereas older Floridians lean toward support. Additionally, Asian, Black, and Hispanic respondents typically align with opponents, while White respondents, both with and without a 4-year college degree, lean toward supporters.
- There is a striking, 21 point gender gap; women side with opponents, 47% to 36%, while men side with supporters, 48% to 38%.
- Given the binary nature of the question, which forces a clear choice, divisions across demographic groups become more pronounced, providing a summarized view of the underlying differences throughout the survey.
Methodology
This survey was conducted by Blue Rose Research and commissioned by the Florida Communications and Research Hub. It includes 3,205 responses, collected via online web panels from July 25-27, 2025. Results are modeled and scored on a representative sample of the Florida voter file, weighted to registered voters (50% GOP, 37% DEM, 14% IND). The margin of error with 95% confidence is ±1.7% for the full sample and larger within subgroups.