Judge Orders Florida to Dismantle ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Federal court blocks new detainees and rules Everglades detention camp violates environmental law.
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday blocked Florida and the Trump administration from adding detainees to the controversial immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” and ordered the state to begin dismantling the Everglades facility.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that officials violated federal environmental law by failing to review the impacts of the site, located at a remote airstrip surrounded by protected wetlands. Her preliminary injunction requires Florida to halt construction and, within 60 days, remove fencing, lighting and generators.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis immediately filed notice it would appeal.
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DeSantis opened the facility in July, saying it would eventually house up to 4,000 people facing deportation under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Authorities have not disclosed the current detainee population.
Williams, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote that the Everglades camp violated the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal review, public input and consideration of alternatives before major projects move forward. “This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises,” she wrote, noting decades of bipartisan pledges to protect the Everglades.
The ruling followed lawsuits by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Miccosukee Tribe. The groups argued the detention camp threatened endangered species, including the Florida panther, and infringed on tribal hunting and fishing rights.
State officials countered that the facility was a state project exempt from federal review. But Williams ruled that because it was designed to enforce federal immigration law through agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, federal requirements applied.
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Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, called the decision a “landmark victory” and said it “sends a clear message that environmental laws must be respected by leaders at the highest levels of our government.”
The case is one of several challenges to the facility, which critics have compared to a legal “black hole.” Another lawsuit alleges detainees have been denied adequate access to attorneys.
Despite the ruling, the Trump administration has signaled it intends to replicate Florida’s model nationwide. Plans for similar state-run facilities are under way in Indiana, Nebraska and Louisiana, part of an effort to expand detention capacity beyond traditional federal sites.
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