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Florida must stop expanding ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration center, judge says
Judge Williams cited habitat loss affecting endangered species, including 2,000 acres lost by Florida panthers, ordering removal of fencing and lighting within 60 days to protect the Everglades ecosystem.
- On August 21, 2025, a federal judge ordered Florida to stop all new construction and to cease admitting additional detainees at the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility located in the Everglades.
- The injunction resulted from a lawsuit filed by conservation organizations and the Miccosukee Tribe, who contended that the detention facility was constructed hastily without adequate environmental assessments and poses a threat to the delicate wetlands of the Everglades.
- The center, built less than two months ago on a lightly used airport, currently holds several hundred detainees in temporary tents but was designed for up to 3,000, with extensive asphalt added during construction.
- Williams remarked that the State rushed the establishment of the detention facility without exploring other possible sites, and the court order requires the removal of fencing, lighting, and generators as the number of detainees decreases over the next 60 days.
- The ruling highlights conflicts between immigration enforcement and environmental protections, with activists applauding the decision as a landmark for protecting the Everglades' ecosystems and requiring government accountability.
196 Articles
196 Articles
Judge orders winding down of Everglades detention center Alligator Alcatraz
Environmental advocates are celebrating after a judge ordered Florida to shut down parts the Everglades migrant detention center within 60 days. The judge gave the state 60 days to remove many components of the facility, including lights, generators, gas, and sewage. The ruling also bans any additional detainees from being sent to what the state calls Alligator Alcatraz. Eve Samples is the Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades. “Wha…
(LPL/EN) – A federal judge in the United States on Thursday ordered the closure, within 60 days, of the immigration detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz, located west of Miami. However, the Florida government announced that it will appeal the measure and that deportations will continue. The decision was issued by Judge Kathleen Williams of the Southern District of Florida, following a lawsuit filed by environmental groups such as Friends…
US district court halts expansion of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigrant detention center
Citing violations of federal environmental law, a federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction blocking further expansion of Alligator Alcatraz, a controversial immigration detention facility in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve. US District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that state and federal defendants failed to conduct required environmental assessments before constructing the camp within an area that has received over $20 …
Judge Halts Expansion of Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Camp
Miami —A federal judge has halted the planned expansion of Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility, ruling that the controversial site in the Everglades violates environmental laws. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered officials to stop accepting new detainees and to begin dismantling temporary fencing, lighting, and other infrastructure within 60 days as detainees are […] The post Judge Halts Expansion of Florida’…
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