A federal judge dealt a major blow to Florida’s immigration enforcement efforts Thursday, ordering the shutdown of “Alligator Alcatraz” and giving state officials just 60 days to dismantle the $450 million detention facility in the Everglades.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a preliminary injunction that prohibits bringing any new detainees to the controversial facility while demanding Florida remove critical infrastructure including generators, sewage systems, and waste receptacles. Williams acknowledged in her order that she is “relying on programmatic attrition of the camp’s population within the next sixty days,” effectively shutting down the site.
Built in just eight days last month at an abandoned airfield deep in the Florida wetlands, the facility was designed to house up to 5,000 migrants as part of President Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Florida officials nicknamed it “Alligator Alcatraz” due to its remote location surrounded by dangerous wildlife and treacherous swampland.
President Trump toured the facility in July, calling it “so professional and so well done” and suggesting it could serve as a model for other states. During his visit, Trump said “we’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is, really, deportation.”
The site currently costs Florida $450 million annually to operate, with officials expecting federal reimbursement through FEMA’s programs. Workers transformed the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport from an 11,000-foot runway into a temporary tent city with the capacity to house up to 3,000 migrants initially.
However, the facility’s rapid construction in the environmentally sensitive wetlands immediately drew legal fire. In the lawsuit Environmental groups Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, joined by the Miccosukee Tribe, argued the detention center violates the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess environmental effects of major construction projects.
“We’re pleased that the judge saw the urgent need to put a pause on additional construction, and we look forward to advancing our ultimate goal of protecting the unique and imperiled Everglades ecosystem from further damage caused by this mass detention facility,” Eve Samples with Friends of the Everglades said in a statement following the ruling.
Legal advocates and relatives of immigrant detainees have described conditions at the facility as horrific, including cage-like units, mosquito infestations and unsanitary conditions. NBC Miami has reported allegations of limited access to showers, spoiled food and extreme heat.
Governor Ron DeSantis had stressed the facility was both temporary and necessary to alleviate burdens on the state’s law enforcement agencies and jails, which have seen an influx in migrants amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. According to the Miami Herald, over 700 migrants have been detained at or scheduled to be sent to Alligator Alcatraz.
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