A Terrible Environmental Law Finally Did Something Good: It Paused Construction of Alligator Alcatraz
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against any additional construction at the immigration detention center amid plans to increase the facility’s capacity to 4,000 detainees.
A federal judge halted construction of Florida's Alligator Alcatraz on Thursday for 14 days while the court decides if the opening of the facility violated federal environmental laws and regulations. Immigrant detainees will remain on the site as the environmental legal challenges continue.
Alligator Alcatraz, a state-run immigration detention center, is located on 30 square miles of the Everglades in Miami-Dade County. Florida officials announced plans for the project on June 19 and began construction just days later. Despite opposition from Miami-Dade's Democratic Mayor Daniella Levine Cava—who called for an updated appraisal of the property and environmental impact report—Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took possession of the land through emergency powers in place since 2023. After only eight days of construction, the facility was operational and began accepting immigrant detainees on July 3.
But before the immigration detention center even opened, environmental groups filed suit in the federal district court in Miami in June, arguing that construction on the land threatens the environmentally sensitive area and failed to comply with federal and state law.
After two days of testimony—including from a witness who said she saw trucks full of fill and a soil compactor driving into Alligator Alcatraz last Friday—District Judge Kathleen M. Williams said she found enough evidence to order the state to stop activities that would further disrupt the ecosystem until the court rules on the request for a preliminary injunction. Because of the temporary restraining order, "new construction, including filling, paving, installation of new infrastructure, and installation of new lighting, must stop immediately," according to a statement released by the environmental groups involved in the case.
Initially, Alligator Alcatraz was touted as a cost-effective solution for the Trump administration to find housing for a record high number of immigrant detainees. The Everglades—full of alligators and pythons—would serve as a natural security perimeter, and the airstrip already on location meant the detention center could double as a deportation hub. Therefore, in theory, an immigration detention center could be quickly built using temporary infrastructure, like tents, and cause minimal environmental impact.
However, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which the facility is accused of violating, requires federal agencies to complete an environmental analysis before beginning major actions, such as construction projects. While the defendants in the case argued that Alligator Alcatraz is run by the state and on state land—and thus exempt from NEPA review— Williams ruled that the "facility was, at a minimum, a joint partnership between the state and federal government," reports CNN. And, although the facility wasn't supposed to require much construction, one witness for the plaintiffs, Christopher McVoy, a soil physicist, hydrologist, and wetlands ecologist, testified that "at least 20 acres of asphalt have been added to the site since the Florida Department of Emergency Management began construction," according to CNN. This extra pavement means increased runoff into the Everglades, spreading chemicals and disturbing the sensitive, flat marshy land.
Making a remote location functional for humans is logistically complicated and expensive—and even temporary structures come with environmental costs. "There's the use of diesel fuel and generators on the side, gray water from washing and laundry, human refuse," Elise Bennett, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity, a plaintiff in the case against Alligator Alcatraz, told The New York Times. "All of these things are being brought onto this site, there's a potential for spills and release into the surrounding wetlands."
While a construction stoppage under Williams' order could disrupt Florida's plans to expand the facility's capacity to hold up to 4,000 detainees by the end of August, DeSantis said in a post on X that "operations at Alligator Alcatraz are ongoing and deportations are continuing." Alex Lanfranconi, DeSantis' communications director, said in a statement following the ruling that the order "will have no impact on immigration enforcement in Florida. Alligator Alcatraz will remain operational, continuing to serve as a force multiplier to enhance deportation efforts."
Hearings are scheduled to continue next week, where Williams will hear state and federal government arguments against the injunction before reaching a final judgment on the preliminary injunction question. Meanwhile, Florida officials also face another lawsuit alleging that detainees are being denied access to counsel.
Both lawsuits represent the pitfalls that arise when government actors attempt to ignore legal protections put in place to avoid irreparable harm. Politicians are better off spending their time changing the laws they don't like—whether rooted in due process or environmentalism—through legislation instead of disregarding them altogether.
