In the heart of the Florida Everglades, a sprawling white-tented complex known as "Alligator Alcatraz" is rapidly emptying, following a federal judge’s order to wind down its operations by late October 2025. The immigration detention center, hastily constructed just two months ago at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, has become a lightning rod for controversy, legal battles, and national debate over immigration policy, environmental stewardship, and civil rights.
On August 27, 2025, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams reaffirmed her earlier order, denying requests from both state and federal officials to pause the mandated closure. According to Associated Press, Judge Williams insisted that the federal government’s “immigration enforcement goals will not be thwarted by a pause in operations,” noting that the detainee population was already dwindling at the facility. Her ruling followed a preliminary injunction issued a week prior, in which she ordered Florida and the Trump administration to stop bringing new detainees into the facility and to begin winding down operations within 60 days.
The urgency of the closure was underscored by Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. In an August 22 email to South Florida Rabbi Mario Rojzman, Guthrie wrote, “We are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days,” implying that chaplaincy services would soon be unnecessary. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed the accelerated pace of removals on August 28, telling reporters, "I do think they've increased the pace of the removals from there." Congressman Maxwell Frost, after a recent tour, reported seeing “336” detainees listed on a whiteboard, but volunteers have since observed at least three buses transporting detainees out, as noted by NPR.
When it opened on July 1, 2025, "Alligator Alcatraz" was billed as a flagship facility in the Trump administration’s drive to expand the infrastructure for undocumented migrant deportations. President Donald Trump himself toured the site in July, suggesting it could serve as a model for future detention centers nationwide. The facility, surrounded by chain-link cages and capable of housing up to 5,000 people in rows of bunk beds, was constructed at breakneck speed—an effort that state officials say cost over $245 million in contracts so far, with total expected spending surpassing $400 million, according to NPR and Associated Press.
But the center’s short life has been anything but smooth. Almost from the outset, it drew lawsuits from a coalition of environmental groups, the Miccosukee Tribe, and civil rights organizations. The environmental coalition argued that the facility threatened sensitive Everglades wetlands—home to protected plant and animal species—and could undo decades and billions of dollars of restoration work. Their legal filings claimed that the hasty construction violated federal laws requiring public input, consideration of alternatives, and a comprehensive environmental impact statement.
“It’s a relief that the state appears to be phasing out operations ... in compliance with the judge’s order,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, to NPR. “When the last detainee leaves, the state should turn off the lights and shut the door behind them because it’s not an appropriate place for a detention center.”
Civil rights groups, meanwhile, have filed multiple lawsuits alleging that detainees were denied access to legal counsel, held for weeks without charges, and in some cases disappeared from ICE’s online detainee locator. One lawsuit described “severe problems” at the facility that were “previously unheard-of in the immigration system,” including a lack of initial custody or bond determinations. The groups have asked a federal court in Fort Myers to issue a restraining order and a temporary injunction barring Florida agencies and their contractors from holding detainees at the site. They further argue that because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, Florida and its private contractors lack the authority to operate such a facility.
Despite the mounting legal challenges and the judge’s order, the state and federal governments are not backing down quietly. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in its request for a stay, warned that closing the facility could disrupt the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws. In a statement reported by NPR, a DHS spokesperson said, “This activist judge doesn’t care about the invasion of our country facilitated by the Biden administration, but the American people do. We have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side.” Meanwhile, almost two dozen Republican-led states have urged the appellate court reviewing Judge Williams’ order to overturn it, arguing that she overstepped her authority and that federal environmental laws apply only to federal agencies, not the state of Florida.
The financial stakes for Florida are significant. State officials estimate that shutting down "Alligator Alcatraz" even temporarily will cost between $15 million and $20 million, with an additional $15 million to $20 million required to reinstall structures if the facility is reopened. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has already poured $218 million into making the training airport suitable for use as a detention center. The rapid wind-down means that fencing, lighting, and generators—installed at considerable expense—will soon be removed, as stipulated by Judge Williams.
Governor DeSantis, for his part, has insisted that the decision to stop housing detainees at "Alligator Alcatraz" was made by federal immigration authorities, not the state. “We don’t determine who goes into the facility,” he told reporters. “There’s litigation going on that DHS is a party to, and so that may be an influence about where they’re sending people.” Still, his administration is already preparing to open a second immigration detention facility, dubbed “Deportation Depot,” at a state prison in north Florida, signaling that the state’s commitment to expanding detention capacity remains undiminished.
As the October deadline approaches, the fate of "Alligator Alcatraz" remains a flashpoint in the broader debate over immigration enforcement, the environment, and the limits of state versus federal authority. The lawsuits continue to wind their way through the courts, and the appellate decision on whether to uphold Judge Williams’ order could have lasting implications for how—and where—immigration detention is carried out in the United States.
For now, though, as the last detainees leave and the lights begin to dim at "Alligator Alcatraz," the Everglades may soon reclaim a patch of land that, for a brief and turbulent moment, became the epicenter of America’s immigration debate.
