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yesterday

Judge-Ordered Wind-Down Is Emptying Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

A federal ruling over skipped environmental review prompted a 60‑day wind‑down, forcing rapid detainee relocations.

Work progresses on a new migrant detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility in the Florida Everglades, on July 4, 2025, in Ochopee, Florida.
South Florida immigrant detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz may close, carrying a $218 million price tag.
Members of "Leaders of Faith and Conscience" hold placards as they attend a weekly interfaith vigil outside the immigrant detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, on August 24, 2025.
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Overview

  • DHS has begun transferring people out of the Everglades site, which state emails say could be empty within days.
  • U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams halted new transfers and construction and ordered the facility dismantled on a 60‑day timeline.
  • The court found likely NEPA violations and noted the lack of consultation with the Miccosukee Tribe, citing risks to habitat and water supplies.
  • Florida appealed the injunction and sought to keep operations going, but the judge rejected a key bid to pause the order as litigation continues.
  • The state estimates $218 million already spent is at risk, shutdown and restart would each cost $15–20 million, and at least $405 million in vendor contracts are on the books as Florida pushes alternative sites such as Baker Correctional.