Alligator Alcatraz 0, Environment 1—for now
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Florida must stop expanding ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration center, judge says
Florida must stop expanding ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration center, judge says. The state of Florida filed a notice of appeal Thursday night, shortly after the ruling was issued. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe had argued that further construction and operations should be stopped. The detention center was quickly built two months ago in the middle of the Everglades, near the airport of the same name.. The judge said she expected the population of the facility to decline within 60 days through the transferring of the detainees to other facilities. She wrote the state and federal defendants can’t bring anyone other than those who are already being detained at the facility onto the property. The order does not prohibit modification or repairs to existing facilities, “which are solely for the purpose of increasing safety or mitigating environmental or other risks at the site,” the judge wrote in an 82-page order. It was designed to hold up to 3,000 detainees in temporary tent structures, surrounded by rows of bunkbeds by chain-link fences.
toggle caption Evan Vucci/AP
MIAMI — A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Thursday halting further expansion and ordering the winding down of an immigration detention center built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” that advocates said violated environmental laws.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ injunction formalized a temporary halt she had ordered two weeks ago as witnesses continued to testify in a multiday hearing to determine whether construction should end until the ultimate resolution of the case.
The state of Florida filed a notice of appeal Thursday night, shortly after the ruling was issued.
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“The deportations will continue until morale improves,” DeSantis spokesman Alex Lanfranconi said in response to the judge’s ruling.
The judge said she expected the population of the facility to decline within 60 days through the transferring of the detainees to other facilities, and once that happened, fencing, lighting and generators should be removed. She wrote the state and federal defendants can’t bring anyone other than those who are already being detained at the facility onto the property. The order does not prohibit modification or repairs to existing facilities, “which are solely for the purpose of increasing safety or mitigating environmental or other risks at the site.,”
The preliminary injunction includes “those who are in active concert or participation with” the state of Florida or federal defendants or their officers, agents, employees,” the judge wrote in an 82-page order.
The judge said state officials never sufficiently explained why the facility needed to be in the middle of the Florida Everglades. “What is apparent, however, is that in their haste to construct the detention camp, the State did not consider alternative locations,” Williams said.
Judge cites decades-long efforts to preserve Everglades
Williams said her order gave the state and federal defendants time to wind down the facility so that it can undergo the required environmental assessments. She noted the three-quarters century of efforts to preserve the Everglades.
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“Since that time, every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades,” she wrote. “This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises.”
President Donald Trump toured the facility last month and suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide as his administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations.
Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe had argued that further construction and operations should be stopped until federal and state officials complied with federal environmental laws. Their lawsuit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars’ worth of environmental restoration.
Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, called the ruling a landmark victory for the Everglades and Americans who believe this imperiled wilderness should be protected.
“It sends a clear message that environmental laws must be respected by leaders at the highest levels of our government — and there are consequences for ignoring them,” Samples said in a statement.
Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress said this isn’t the first time the tribe has has to fight for its land and rights.
“We will always stand up for our culture, our sovereignty, and for the Everglades,” Cypress said in a statement.
Attorneys for the state and federal defendants didn’t immediately respond to emailed inquiries late Thursday. But they have previously argued that, although the detention center would be holding federal detainees, the construction and operation of the facility was entirely under the state of Florida, meaning the federal environmental law didn’t apply.
The judge has said the detention facility was, at a minimum, a joint partnership between the state and federal government.
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Hasty construction of detention center
The detention center was quickly built almost two months ago at a lightly used, single-runway training airport in the middle of the Everglades. It currently holds several hundred detainees but was designed to eventually hold up to 3,000 detainees in temporary tent structures.
Inside the compound’s large white tents, rows of bunkbeds are surrounded by chain-link cages. People held there say worms turn up in the food, toilets don’t flush and flood floors with fecal waste, while mosquitoes and other insects are everywhere. At times the air conditioners abruptly shut off in the sweltering heat. Detainees are said to go days without showering or getting prescription medicine, and can only speak to lawyers and loved ones by phone.
Witnesses for the environmental groups testified during the hearing that at least 20 acres (8 hectares) of asphalt had been added to the site since the Florida Division of Emergency Management began construction. They said additional paving could lead to an increase in water runoff to the adjacent wetlands, spread harmful chemicals into the Everglades and reduce the habitat for endangered Florida panthers.
Attorneys for federal and state agencies have asked Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Williams ruled Thursday that her court was the proper venue.
Another federal judge in Miami dismissed part of a lawsuit earlier this week that claimed detainees were denied access to the legal system at the immigration detention center and then moved the remaining counts of the case to another court.
Both lawsuits were being heard as Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ′ administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention center at a Florida National Guard training center in north Florida.
A judge has ordered ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Florida to wind down operations. What happens now?
A federal judge has put a stop to further expansion of the immigration detention center built in the Florida Everglades. No additional detainees can be sent to the facility, and no more additional lighting, fencing, buildings or tents can be added to the camp. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday reacted to the ruling, saying he would not be deterred by “an activist judge.” Florida has other immigration detention centers including the Krome North Processing Center in Miami, the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach and the Baker County Detention Center managed by the local sheriff’s office. Florida has also announced plans for a second state-initiated immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison about 43 miles (69 kilometers) west of downtown Jacksonville. State officials say it is expected to hold 1,300 immigration detention beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000 beds. No one has said publicly what will happen to the hundreds of millions of dollars involved in contracts involved in the facility.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge has put a stop to further expansion of the immigration detention center built in the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz, ordering that its operations wind down within two months.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami wrote in her 82-page order late Thursday that Florida officials never sufficiently explained why an immigration detention center needed to be located in the middle of sensitive wetlands cherished by environmentalists and outdoors people.
She also said that state and federal authorities never undertook an environmental review as required by federal law before Florida officials hastily built the detention camp which they championed as a model for President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. That failure adversely affected the “recreational, conservational, and aesthetic interests” of the environmental groups and Miccosukee Tribe which brought the lawsuit, she said.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday reacted to the ruling, saying he would not be deterred by “an activist judge.”
“We knew this would be something that would likely happen,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Panama City. “We will respond accordingly. You either have a country or you don’t.”
Here’s what to know about the situation and what might come next:
What did the judge say?
Williams said she expected the population at the facility to drop within 60 days by transferring detainees to other facilities. Once that happens, fencing, lighting, gas, waste, generators and other equipment should be removed from the site. No additional detainees can be sent to the facility, and no more additional lighting, fencing, paving, buildings or tents can be added to the camp. The only repairs that can be made to the existing facility are for safety purposes. However, the judge allowed for the existing dormitories and housing to stay in place as long as they are maintained to prevent deterioration or damage.
Here’s where detainees might end up
During court hearings, lawyers said at one point there were fewer than 1,000 detainees at the facility, which state officials had planned to hold up to 3,000 people. Although the detainees could be sent to other facilities out of state, Florida has other immigration detention centers including the Krome North Processing Center in Miami, the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach and the Baker County Detention Center managed by the local sheriff’s office. Earlier this month, DeSantis announced plans for a second state-initiated immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison about 43 miles (69 kilometers) west of downtown Jacksonville. State officials say it is expected to hold 1,300 immigration detention beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000 beds.
How does this decision impact the other “Alligator Alcatraz” lawsuit?
Civil rights lawyers had filed a second lawsuit over practices at “Alligator Alcatraz,” claiming that detainees weren’t able to meet with their attorneys privately and were denied access to immigration courts. Another federal judge in Miami dismissed part of the lawsuit earlier this week after the Trump administration designated the Krome North Processing Center as the court for their cases to be heard. The judge moved the remaining counts of the case from Florida’s southern district to the middle district. Eunice Cho, the lead attorney for the detainees, said Friday that the decision in the environmental lawsuit won’t have an impact on the civil rights case since there could be detainees at the facility for the next two months.
“Our case addresses the lack of access to counsel for people detained at Alligator Alcatraz, and there are still people detained there,” Cho said.
Status of the hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts
No one has said publicly what will happen to the hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts involved in the facility. DeSantis’ administration in July signed contracts with private vendors to pay at least $245 million to set up and run the center, according to a public database. That amount — to be fronted by Florida taxpayers — was in line with the $450 million a year officials have estimated the facility was going to cost. The governor’s office and the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Friday didn’t respond to questions about whether Florida taxpayers would still be on the hook for the contracts if the facility is shuttered.
Is this a final decision?
No. This case will continue to be litigated. The state of Florida filed a notice of appeal Thursday night, shortly after the ruling was issued. As its name suggests, a preliminary injunction is only an initial action taken by a judge to prevent harm while a lawsuit makes its way through the court process and when it appears that one side has a good chance of succeeding based on the merits of the case.
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Alligator Alcatraz Expansion Blocked for Harm to Environment (1)
Alligator Alcatraz is a makeshift detention center in the Florida Everglades. A federal judge ruled that doing so would harm the surrounding environment. The detention center involved paving approximately 800,000 square feet of land, installing industrial lighting, and employing over 1,000 staff, many of whom live on site. The scale of operation rises to the definition of a major agency action, and the law requires public input and environmental assessments before such work, the judge said. The DHS argued its expanded immigration enforcement necessitates the development of the facility, “they offered little to no evidence why this detention camp, in this particular location, is uniquely suited and critical to that mission,” the court said in a ruling Thursday. The facility, which gained its moniker from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, sits on a small airport in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
Judge Kathleen Williams of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a preliminary injunction Thursday, blocking the DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Florida Division of Emergency Management to continue increasing operations.
Under the order, ICE can’t move any new detainees into the facility, and in 60 days the government must remove all temporary fencing, generators, lighting, and other infrastructure installed “once the population attrition allows for safe implementation.”
The ruling elaborates on an earlier temporary restraining order that stopped the addition of new infrastructure for a two-week period but allowed the existing facility to continue operations.
Despite DHS asserting the facility was solely a state operation, Williams called the detention center a major federal action that warranted review under the National Environmental Policy Act review before its rapid construction in just eight days.
The detention center involved paving approximately 800,000 square feet of land, installing industrial lighting, and employing over 1,000 staff, many of whom live on site, the judge said. The scale of operation rises to the definition of a major agency action, and the law requires public input and environmental assessments before such work.
Williams acknowledged that staff wear uniforms with state agency logos and the DHS hasn’t yet reimbursed the state for its costs, but pointed out that “the project was requested by the federal government; built with a promise of full federal funding; constructed in compliance with ICE standards; staffed by deputized ICE Task Force Officers acting under color of federal authority and at the direction and supervision of ICE officials; and exists for the sole purpose of detaining and deporting those subject to federal immigration enforcement.”
“The Court will ‘adhere to the time-tested adage: if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, then it’s a duck,’” Williams said.
The facility, which gained its moniker from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R), sits on a small airport in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
Williams said the preserve was created for conservation and preservation of the Everglades, and “this order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises.”
“This ruling affirms what we argued in court — that the government can’t just build something in the middle of the Everglades and the Big Cypress preserve with no environmental review, and no public input,” Tania Galloni, managing attorney for the Florida office of Earthjustice, said in a statement.
The environmental groups that sued over the lack of environmental considerations identified a “myriad of risks” to the wetlands and endangered species—including the Florida panther and bonneted bat—from the facility’s runoff and wastewater discharge, the court said.
While DHS argued its expanded immigration enforcement necessitates the development of the facility, “they offered little to no evidence why this detention camp, in this particular location, is uniquely suited and critical to that mission,” Williams said.
The plaintiffs, which include the Friends of the Everglades and Center for Biological Diversity, sued the DHS and Florida agency in June, arguing the operation of an immigrant detention center was a federal action that warranted an environmental review under NEPA.
The court “recognizes the unique and unprecedented situation presented by this case” as well as “the interests of the Defendants and the importance of a well-ordered transition while Defendants modify the facility to perform the necessary environmental assessments,” Williams said.
The DHS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The groups are represented by Earthjustice, Coffey Burlington PL, and the Center for Biological Diversity.
The case is Friends of the Everglades v. Noem, S.D. Fla., No. 1:25-cv-22896, preliminary injunction 8/21/25.
Environmental groups are ‘cautiously optimistic’ about judge’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ ruling
Environmental groups say they are “cautiously optimistic” following a judge’s ruling. The Florida migrant detention facility can remain operational, but it cannot be expanded or used to detain additional migrants. The lawsuit argued that the detention facility in the Everglades’ construction skirted environmental laws. The suit said that the center was built without ecological reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act and that the government failed to comply with other state and federal statutes, including the Endangered Species Act. The judge’s decision to halt operations at “Alligator Alcatraz” was not unexpected, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday morning, saying it was “preordained” and “not going to deter” his administration from working on the deportations. The ruling is expected to stay in place while the lawsuit is heard, according to the ruling to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement that the ruling “ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade”
The lawsuit argued that the detention facility in the Everglades’ construction skirted environmental laws. The suit said that the center was built without ecological reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act and without public notice or comment and that the government failed to comply with other state and federal statutes, including the Endangered Species Act.
Environmental groups sued in June to halt the project, a month before it opened on an airstrip in Ochopee’s Big Cypress National Preserve.
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U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams entered a preliminary injunction Thursday to prevent the installation of any additional industrial-style lighting and any site expansion. Her ruling further prevents “bringing any additional persons … who were not already being detained at the site at the time of this order.”
This ruling meant no filling, paving or installation of additional infrastructure was allowed, but it did not affect the center’s immigration enforcement activity.
Environmental groups, including Friends of the Everglades, called Williams’ ruling a “preliminary” win during a Friday morning news conference.
“It is important to remember that environmental laws in our countries stand on equal footing with other laws, and they are being tested in ways that we haven’t seen in more than a half century,” Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples said, calling the order “a victory for the rule of law and for holding government accountable.”
Work progresses on the detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” on July 4 in Ochopee, Fla. (Rebecca Blackwell / AP file)
Samples, however, noted that while this decision is significant, “it is not a final win.”
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“We already know there will be an appeal, so I’m going to stop there,” she said.
Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orlando, said the state “expected a loss” when it came to the detention facility because it did not do its due diligence in any environmental study in building it.
“So, they were intentionally transferring individuals to other facilities, and now they’re pushing for Baker CI (correctional institution) to be established as a detention facility as quickly as possible, because they know the Everglades is not going to be suitable for this,” she said at the news conference.
During a separate news conference on Friday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis admitted that the judge’s decision to halt operations at “Alligator Alcatraz” was not unexpected.
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“This is a judge that was not going to give us a fair shake,” DeSantis said about Williams. “This was preordained, very much an activist judge that is trying to do policy from the bench. This is not going to deter us. We’re going to continue working on the deportations, advancing that mission. We knew that this would be something that would likely happen, and we will respond accordingly.”
DeSantis said his administration is working on opening more facilities like the one in the Everglades.
“So, I did announce that we are going to be opening another facility right outside of Jacksonville, in Baker County, and we’ve called that the ‘Deportation Depot.'”
In response to the government’s overnight appeal filed in response to the halt order, Paul Schwiep, counsel for Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, said during Friday’s briefing that they are prepared to fight it.
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“We are sure that the defendants will seek a stay of the judge’s order, and we’re prepared to meet that motion to stay with the same energy vigor with the law and the facts that we brought to seeking the injunction in the first place,” he said.
Thursday’s injunction is expected to stay in place while the lawsuit challenging the detention center is heard, according to the ruling.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement that the ruling “ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade. It is another attempt to prevent the President from fulfilling the American people’s mandate to remove the worst of the worst, including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, terrorists, and rapists, from our country.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Federal judge orders some parts of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ must be dismantled within 60 days – can no longer admit new detainees
Judge Kathleen Williams issued the temporary injunction in response to a lawsuit filed by several environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians. The plaintiffs argued that federal agencies did not assess the potential impacts the facility may have on the wetlands and endangered species in the Florida Everglades. The judge halted construction at the facility and ordered the removal of some of its supporting infrastructure, such as lights, generators, and fencing. Earlier this month, Williams ordered a construction halt at the swampland facility, which remains in place under her new ruling. Alligator Alcatraz has the capacity for 2,000 detainees but was in the process of expanding to hold up to 4,000. The detention center opened last month after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used his emergency powers to order its construction. The temporary order will remain in place while the case is litigated to determine if NEPA procedures were violated.
Miami-based District Judge Kathleen Williams, an appointee of President Barack Obama, issued the temporary injunction in response to a lawsuit filed by several environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians.
The plaintiffs argued that federal agencies did not assess the potential impacts the facility may have on the wetlands and endangered species in the Florida Everglades, as well as the tribe’s water and food supply, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
3 President Trump visits a temporary migrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” in Ochopee, Florida, on July 1, 2025. REUTERS
Williams’ order barred state and federal officials from “bringing any additional persons” to Alligator Alcatraz “who were not already being detained at the site at the time of this Order going into effect.”
The judge also ruled that within 60 days and “once the population attrition allows for safe implementation of this Order,” Trump administration and Florida officials must remove all temporary fencing around the detention camp, lighting fixtures “installed for the use of the property as a detention facility” and “all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles” installed at the facility.
It’s unclear how Alligator Alcatraz would be able to operate without that infrastructure in place.
Earlier this month, Williams ordered a construction halt at the swampland facility, which remains in place under her new ruling.
Alligator Alcatraz has the capacity for 2,000 detainees but was in the process of expanding to hold up to 4,000.
3 Under Williams’ order, the facility can continue to operate but cannot take in any new detainees. AP
The detention center, built in eight days on 30 square miles of land deep in the Florida Everglades, opened last month after Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis used his emergency powers to order its construction.
The property is outfitted with tent structures to house the illegal migrants and was built on the site of an old airport owned by Miami-Dade County.
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Environmental groups and the Miccosukee tribe argued that the facility threatens billions of dollars’ worth of environmental restoration work done in the area.
They also claimed the building of the facility violated NEPA, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of major construction projects.
3 The judge halted construction at the facility and ordered the removal of some of its supporting infrastructure, such as lights, generators, and fencing. AP
Jesse Panuccio, an attorney for the state of Florida, countered in a hearing earlier this month that the construction and operation of Alligator Alcatraz were under the purview of the state of Florida, not the federal government, meaning that NEPA review was not required.
However, since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the plaintiffs claimed, it makes no difference that the facility was built by the state of Florida, and NEPA should still apply.
Williams’ temporary order will remain in place while the case is litigated to determine if NEPA procedures were violated.
“Allowing the detention camp to continue expanding its infrastructure and operations poses an even more formidable challenge than maintaining the status quo because ‘it is difficult to change that course’ if the Court eventually decides that NEPA assessments are required,” the judge wrote in her opinion.
“The construction of the facility may have taken only eight days, but the capacity of the Defendants to remedy the NEPA violations outlined will involve a longer period of time,” she added. “The Court has endeavored to provide that temporal accommodation in its Order.”
The Department of Homeland Security and DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Source: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/8/22/2339712/-Alligator-Alcatraz-0-Environment-1-for-now