On August 21, 2025, a federal judge delivered a decisive blow to Florida’s controversial migrant detention center, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” located in the heart of the Big Cypress National Preserve. The 82-page ruling by Judge Kathleen Williams, as reported by The New York Times, ENS Newswire, and The Hill, orders the state and federal officials to halt construction, cease bringing in new detainees, and wind down operations at the facility within 60 days. The decision, hailed as a landmark victory by environmental advocates, underscores the mounting tensions between immigration policy, environmental protection, and the rights of Indigenous communities in Florida.
The Alligator Alcatraz detention center, hastily constructed in just eight days in June 2025 on the site of a former airfield, was designed to hold thousands of migrants. According to ENS Newswire, the facility was built without any of the environmental reviews mandated by federal law, an omission that proved central to Judge Williams’s ruling. The lawsuit challenging the center’s legality was brought by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Their suit argued that the project posed serious threats to the Everglades ecosystem, endangered species such as the Florida panther, and the clean water supply for South Florida.
In her ruling, Judge Williams found that the construction and operation of the center violated federal environmental law, specifically the requirement for prior review of potential environmental harms. She ordered the removal of fences, lighting, generators, and other infrastructure, effectively making it impossible to continue running the detention center. The judge also mandated that all detainees be transferred within 60 days and that temporary fencing be taken down to restore the Miccosukee Tribe’s access to the land, as reported by The Hill.
“This is a landmark victory for the Everglades and countless Americans who believe this imperiled wilderness should be protected, not exploited. It sends a clear message that environmental laws must be respected by leaders at the highest levels of our government – and there are consequences for ignoring them,” said Eve Samples, Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades, during a virtual press conference cited by ENS Newswire.
The facility, which opened in July 2025 at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, quickly drew the ire of environmentalists, Indigenous groups, and civil liberties advocates. The site is more than 96 percent wetlands, surrounded by the Big Cypress National Preserve—a 729,000-acre ecosystem that supports endangered species like the Florida panther and the Florida bonneted bat. The National Park Service estimates that only 130-160 Florida panthers remain in the wild, with 30-35 inhabiting Big Cypress, making the area critical to their survival.
Paul J. Schwiep, counsel for Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, told ENS Newswire, “The state and federal government paved over 20 acres of open land, built a parking lot for 1,200 cars and 3,000 detainees, placed miles of fencing and high-intensity lighting on site and moved thousands of detainees and contractors onto land in the heart of the Big Cypress National Preserve, all in flagrant violation of environmental law.”
Inside Alligator Alcatraz, conditions have been described as inhumane by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). According to the ACLU’s website, “The first group of detainees arrived at the facility on July 3rd, and in the short time since, hundreds are now detained in makeshift tents and cages, exposed to extreme heat, mosquitoes, and unsanitary conditions, and surrounded by snakes and alligators.” Reports of minimal and sometimes contaminated food, bug infestations, overflowing toilets, and lack of medical care led to detainees staging a hunger strike. Congressional visitors described cages holding 30 or more individuals at temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Judge Williams’s decision also represents a win for the Miccosukee Tribe, whose access to ancestral lands was restricted by the construction of the detention center. The judge ordered that temporary fencing be removed to allow tribe members the same access they had before the facility was erected.
Not everyone welcomed the ruling. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a staunch defender of the detention center, vowed to continue fighting. Speaking at an event in Panama City, Florida, DeSantis said, “We had a judge try to upset the apple cart with respect to our deportation and detention processing center down in South Florida.” He characterized Judge Williams as “an activist judge that is trying to do policy from the bench” and insisted, “This is not going to deter us. We’re going to continue working on the deportations, advancing that mission,” according to The New York Times.
DeSantis’s administration quickly appealed the decision and announced plans to open a second migrant detention facility at the shuttered Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, Florida. The new center, dubbed the "Deportation Depot," is intended to process and deport illegal immigrants rapidly and will be staffed by the Florida National Guard. Located near the Osceola National Forest, the Baker facility can hold more than 1,300 detainees and is, in DeSantis’s words, “ideal” for quick deportations due to its proximity to an airport. Federal partners are expected to reimburse the state for costs.
Environmental groups, while celebrating the court’s decision, remain vigilant. Paul J. Schwiep, the lead attorney for Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, told The New York Times, “No one’s declaring victory. We really believe we have the facts on our side.” Tania Galloni, managing attorney for Earthjustice’s Florida office, added, “This ruling affirms what we argued in court – that the government can’t just build something in the middle of the Everglades and the Big Cypress preserve with no environmental review, and no public input.”
The legal battle is far from over. The preliminary injunction will remain in place while the lawsuit moves forward, with plaintiffs seeking a detailed environmental impact study as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The stakes are high, not only for the migrants held in harsh conditions but also for the fragile ecosystems and endangered species of the Everglades—a region that draws one million visitors annually and has been the focus of decades-long conservation efforts.
As the state presses ahead with its immigration agenda, the collision of environmental, humanitarian, and legal concerns in Florida’s detention policy continues to reverberate across the nation. The fate of Alligator Alcatraz and its would-be successors will likely set precedents for how the U.S. balances border enforcement with environmental stewardship and Indigenous rights in the years to come.
