MIAMI — An immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” must keep moving toward shutting down operations by late October, a judge has ruled, even as the state and federal governments fight that decision.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams late Wednesday denied requests to pause her order to wind down operations at the facility, which has been plagued by reports of unsanitary conditions and detainees being cut off from the legal system.
The facility was already being emptied of detainees, according to an email exchange shared with The Associated Press on Wednesday. The executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, said on Aug. 22 “we are probably going to be down to zero individuals within a few days,” in a message to South Florida Rabbi Mario Rojzman about chaplaincy services at the facility, implying there would soon be no need.
The detention center was quickly built two months ago at a little-used training airport, where chain-link cages now surround large white tents filled with rows of bunk beds. State officials signed more than $245 million in contracts for building and operating the facility, which officially opened July 1.
President Donald Trump toured the facility last month and suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide as his administration races to expand the infrastructure needed to increase deportations.
Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in their request for a stay that Williams’ order last week, if carried out, would disrupt the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws.
But the judge in Wednesday night’s order noted that the detainee population already was dwindling at the facility, and that the federal government’s “immigration enforcement goals will not be thwarted by a pause in operations.”
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison in north Florida.
Williams said in last week’s order that she expected the population of “Alligator Alcatraz” to decline within 60 days through the transferring of the detainees to other facilities, and once that happened, fencing, lighting and generators should be removed. She wrote the state and federal defendants can’t bring any new detainees onto the property.
State officials said shutting down the facility for the time being would cost them $15 million to $20 million and that it would cost another $15 million to $20 million to reinstall structures if they ultimately are allowed to reopen the facility. They also said that the Florida Division of Emergency Management will lose most of the value of the $218 million it has invested in making the training airport suitable for a detention center.
Lawmakers and White House border officials weigh in
Tom Homan, the White House “border czar,” said he supports permanent facilities but praised Florida officials for stepping up.
“I do think ICE needs more brick-and-mortar facilities,” Homan said. “We need permanent facilities … and I want to thank Florida for stepping up, saying we want to help you.”
Gimenez, a Republican congressman who recently toured the facility, said he is open to its closure.
“I am okay with it closing,” Gimenez said. “I am fine with closing every single facility that is not needed, that is just a waste of money as far as I am concerned. Is there still a national security or compelling national security reason why it must remain open? I am not sure. There are not the same number of people there that it was designed to and it is a pretty big expense, so we will see how it all works out.”
Environmental concerns remain central
Plaintiffs emphasized that the case is about environmental protection, not immigration enforcement. A spokesperson described the facility as a “black box” raising national concern.
“The issues of immigration are being addressed in another case. Our case is about vindicating the public’s interest in the environment and compliance with environmental laws,” the spokesperson said. “This is a prime example of why those laws exist. The black box that has been this Everglades detention center has raised concern across communities here in Florida and across the nation, and compliance with these laws would have vindicated those interests. We hold out great hope that we can continue to defend the Everglades and the communities who depend on it.”
Alligator Alcatraz has faced multiple lawsuits, including claims from environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe that operations violated federal environmental laws. The groups argue the facility threatens sensitive wetlands home to protected plants and animals and could reverse decades of environmental restoration efforts.
Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe said further construction and operations should be stopped until federal and state officials complied with federal environmental laws. Their lawsuit claimed the facility threatened sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars spent over decades on environmental restoration.
Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the ruling allows nature to return.
“What that means on the ground is that the fences are able to come down, the lights eventually will be turned off, and it can go back to the status quo where wildlife can be wild and we don’t need to be concerned about contamination of our world-class wetlands,” she said.
Legal analyst David Weinstein noted the broader implications of the ruling.
“That order — it’s in effect — and those 60 days are ticking. But by the time that decision is made, this facility might not be there anymore," he said.
Weinstein added that the closure could affect other pending lawsuits, including a First Amendment case about attorney access.
“If there’s no facility, then there’s nobody to need to have access to. So that might moot out a couple of the other lawsuits that are pending as well. We’ll have to see how that all plays out,” he added.
Plaintiffs emphasized that the case is about environmental protection, not immigration enforcement.
“The issues of immigration are being addressed in another case. Our case is about vindicating the public’s interest in the environment and compliance with environmental laws,” said a spokesperson. “We hold out great hope that we can continue to defend the Everglades and the communities who depend on it.”
Civil rights groups filed a second lawsuit last month against the state and federal governments over practices at the Everglades facility, claiming detainees were denied access to the legal system. Another federal judge last week dismissed parts of the lawsuit and moved the suit to another court district for procedural reasons.
A third lawsuit by civil rights groups last Friday described “severe problems” at the facility which were “previously unheard-of in the immigration system.” The suit alleges detainees were being held for weeks without any charges, had disappeared from ICE’s online detainee locator, and no one at the facility was making initial custody or bond determinations.
The groups want a federal court in Fort Myers to issue a restraining order and a temporary injunction that would bar Florida agencies and their contractors from holding detainees there.
Since immigration is a federal issue, the rights groups say Florida agencies and the state’s private contractors have no authority to operate the facility. The rights groups want their lawsuit to be certified as a class action.
Meanwhile, almost two dozen Republican-led states urged the appellate court reviewing Williams’ order to overturn it. The 22 states argued in a court filing that she overstepped her authority and that the federal environmental laws only applied to the federal agencies, not the state of Florida.
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