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Alligator Alcatraz Faces Lawsuits Over Jurisdiction and Conditions

Court battles over jurisdiction, legal access issues have put Florida’s hastily built Everglades detention camp under scrutiny.

At a Miami immigration detention center, migrants were held in cells for hours without lunch and remained shackled while eating around 7 p.m.
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Workers install a sign reading "Alligator Alcatraz" at the entrance to a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Overview

  • The facility, erected under Gov. Ron DeSantis’s emergency powers at the Dade-Collier airstrip, currently holds roughly 900 to 1,000 migrants in makeshift tents and chain-link cages.
  • Florida’s Division of Emergency Management asserts the camp meets all operational and health standards despite detainee reports of flooding, insect infestations and restricted in-person attorney visits.
  • At least three lawsuits challenge the camp’s operations: an ACLU suit over blocked legal visits, a federal environmental review dispute and a tribal-conservation motion citing ecological harm.
  • A federal judge will address the environmental lawsuit’s venue on July 30, followed by an August 6 hearing on requests to halt further construction and additional detentions.
  • Italy and Mexico have demanded repatriation of their nationals held there, and Florida nonprofits and medical experts have called for the camp’s immediate closure over alleged inhumane conditions.