Judge Orders Alligator Alcatraz To Wind Down Operations Within 60 Days
A federal district court judge granted environmentalist groups’ request for a preliminary injunction.
Alligator Alcatraz, a key detention center for the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign, may soon be shut down. On Thursday, a federal judge ordered the state of Florida and the federal government to wind down operations at Alligator Alcatraz within 60 days while the court rules on the merits of an environmental lawsuit filed against the facility.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams of the Southern District of Florida previously paused construction on August 7 at the state-run immigration detention center located on 30 square miles of the Everglades. The pause was issued to stop the state from continuing activities—including filling, paving, and installing new infrastructure and lighting—that would further disrupt the Everglades' ecosystem before the court could rule on the request for a preliminary injunction filed by environmental groups. In response to the pause, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on X that operations would continue at Alligator Alcatraz, including detentions and deportations.
But after hearing arguments presented by the state disputing that the facility poses environmental threats, Williams granted the environmental groups' request for a preliminary injunction. "Plaintiffs have provided extensive evidence supporting their claims of significant ongoing and likely future environmental harms from the project," Williams wrote in her opinion. "By contrast, while the Defendants repeatedly espouse the importance of immigration enforcement, they offered little to no evidence why this detention camp, in this particular location, is uniquely suited and critical to that mission."
Accordingly, Alligator Alcatraz must halt construction, stop bringing in new detainees, and remove temporary fencing, detention-center lighting, and equipment such as generators within 60 days of the order and once the population of the center declines enough to allow "for safe implementation of this Order." Williams' injunction will remain until the court decides if government officials failed to comply with state and federal environmental laws before beginning construction.
But the legal battle over Alligator Alcatraz is not over, and DeSantis' administration quickly appealed Williams' ruling. However, the preliminary injunction will likely derail Florida's plans to expand the facility to hold up to 4,000 detainees by the end of August.
Alligator Alcatraz was originally billed as a cost-effective solution for the Trump administration to house a record number of immigration detainees. But even before its opening, the facility faced opposition. It has attracted several lawsuits, including one alleging that detainees are being denied access to counsel.
Despite these challenges, DeSantis plans to build a second state-run immigration detention center in northern Florida to build on the "success" of Alligator Alcatraz. Dubbed "Deportation Depot," the new facility, located at the Baker Correctional Institution, will be able to hold more than 1,300 immigrant detainees and process immigrants for removal. The Lake City Gateway Airport, located 15 minutes away, will serve as a deportation hub.
Similar to Alligator Alcatraz, Florida's newest immigrant detention center will likely face its own legal challenges as officials navigate both state and federal laws regulating their activities.
