Without permanent structures, electricity or running water, logistical headaches have emerged at “Alligator Alcatraz.”

OCHOPEE, Fla. — 9 Investigates is learning more about the private company the state is paying millions to run Alligator Alcatraz. The Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System shows state agencies’ payouts, including the more than $78 million contract the state’s Emergency Management Division entered with Critical Response Strategies LLC.

The camp was first announced by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is DeSantis’ former chief of staff and was manager of the governor’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign, late last month.

Prisoners at Florida's newly opened immigrant detention center in the Everglades are suffering in squalid conditions and are cut off from legal access, according to attorneys, detainees, family members, and lawmakers.

Florida's Executive Director for the Division of Emergency Management called out Democrats earlier this week for misrepresenting conditions at the new detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz" and overreacting to score political points.

Jacksonville-based company CRS has secured 45 state contracts since its creation, mostly dealing with disaster relief work and medical staffing. That history is making some question why it has been hired to staff Alligator Alcatraz.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Wednesday he wants the detention facility, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” to be at full capacity before moving forward with the plans to turn Camp Blanding into an immigration detention site.

The Florida Immigrant Coalition's new billboards were restored after being taken down, but why were they removed in the first place?