A federal judge has ordered the shutdown of a controversial immigration detention center in Florida’s Everglades, known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The ruling halts further expansion and begins the process of closure after environmental advocates argued the facility violated key federal laws.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the injunction following testimony during a multi-day hearing. Florida quickly responded by filing a notice of appeal on Thursday night.
“The deportations will continue until morale improves,” said DeSantis spokesman Alex Lanfranconi, reacting to the decision.
According to Williams, detainees must be transferred out within 60 days, after which fencing, lighting, and generators are to be removed. The order prevents the state or federal government from bringing new detainees onto the site but allows repairs strictly for safety or environmental risk mitigation.
The judge also wrote that officials never explained why the facility had to be placed in the heart of the Everglades. “What is apparent, however, is that in their haste to construct the detention camp, the State did not consider alternative locations,” she noted.
Williams said her order allows time for the site to undergo proper environmental review, citing decades of bipartisan commitments to protect the Everglades. “This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises,” she wrote.
President Donald Trump toured the facility last month and suggested it could serve as a model for future detention sites as his administration works to expand capacity for deportations.
Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe argued that construction should not continue until environmental standards were met. They warned the project threatened protected wildlife and wetlands and could undo billions spent on Everglades restoration.
Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, called the ruling “a landmark victory.” She said it proves environmental laws cannot be ignored by political leaders.
Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress echoed that sentiment: “We will always stand up for our culture, our sovereignty, and for the Everglades.”
Attorneys for the state and federal government declined to comment but have argued the facility falls solely under Florida’s jurisdiction and is not bound by federal environmental law. Judge Williams rejected that reasoning, saying the project is at least a joint state-federal partnership.
The detention center, built just two months ago on a single-runway airport, currently houses several hundred detainees but was designed to hold up to 3,000. Inside, detainees have reported poor conditions, including contaminated food, broken toilets, lack of medical access, and extreme heat when air conditioning fails.
Witnesses testified that more than 20 acres of asphalt were added to the site, raising concerns about water runoff, chemical pollution, and harm to endangered species like the Florida panther.
Lawyers for the state and federal government had requested dismissal of the injunction, but Williams ruled her court was the correct venue. Another federal judge in Miami dismissed part of a separate lawsuit over detainee access to lawyers, moving the rest of the case elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is reportedly preparing to build a second immigration detention facility at a National Guard training site in North Florida.
