A federal judge on Thursday ordered an indefinite halt to new construction at an immigration detention facility that Florida officials have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” and barred any new detainees from being brought to the site, siding with environmental groups who said the facility is endangering the Everglades and its wildlife.
The decision is a setback for Florida’s Republican-led state government and its aggressive efforts to aid the Trump administration’s hardline immigration agenda, including by deputizing thousands of state police as federal immigration officers.
The order by U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams did not require Florida officials to completely cease operations at Alligator Alcatraz, allowing the state to continue using existing structures there to detain immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. But Williams barred any more detainees from being transferred to the site — dashing plans to expand the detention center.
The ruling says state and federal authorities cannot add any new tents to the site or carry out any paving or excavating, though they can repair existing facilities for safety purposes.
It also directs them to remove temporary fencing, light fixtures and generators from the site within 60 days. Housing facilities can remain in place, the judge said.
Williams wrote that, for decades, “every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades. This Order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises.”
The makeshift detention facility — located in what was largely an abandoned airfield — is one of several locations and prisons that Republican-led states have offered the Trump administration so they can be converted into immigration detention centers. Officials in Indiana and Nebraska have also allowed facilities in their states to hold immigrants facing deportation.
Thursday’s ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the Miccosukee tribe and environmental activists who challenged operations at Alligator Alcatraz on environmental grounds. The Everglades are an ecologically sensitive area that’s home to endangered species, and many Floridians rely on the Everglades as a source of drinking water.
The plaintiffs argued that environmental reviews mandated in federal law should have been completed before the site was set up.
Florida officials have argued Alligator Alcatraz is not subject to those federal environmental requirements because the facility is run by the state. The Trump administration has said it will reimburse Florida for the effort using federal funds.
Williams had paused further construction at Alligator Alcatraz earlier this month, but only for two weeks.
A separate lawsuit over the legal rights of those held at the Everglades facility is also playing out.
That case was partially dismissed by the U.S. District Court Judge Rodolfo Ruiz earlier this week, since the Trump administration had designated an immigration court to hear the claims of those detained at Alligator Alcatraz, one of the main concerns raised by the lawsuit. But Ruiz allowed another part of the case centered on detainees’ right to in-person and confidential legal consultations to proceed, transferring the lawsuit to another federal judge.
