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Judge Orders 60-Day Wind-Down of Florida’s Everglades Immigration Camp

The ruling cites missing federal environmental review triggered by DHS funding.

Holey Land Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area in the Everglades, Florida.
People take part in a boat tour in Everglades National Park in Florida on May 6, 2024.
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.
OCHOPEE, FLORIDA - JULY 12: David Mourer visits the entrance to "Alligator Alcatraz" at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on July 12, 2025, in Ochopee, Florida. Members of Congress were given their first visit to the new state-managed immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades that officials have named “Alligator Alcatraz.” (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams barred new transfers to the site and ordered fencing, lighting, generators and other equipment removed as the population is reduced over two months.
  • The court found likely violations of federal environmental law with irreparable harm to wetlands and endangered species, concluding federal direction and roughly $600 million in pledged support made those laws applicable.
  • Florida filed an immediate appeal and asked the 11th Circuit to pause the injunction, as Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the decision.
  • A new ACLU-led lawsuit argues the state lacks authority under 287(g) to operate the Everglades facility, saying the statute does not deputize state agencies or private contractors to run detention centers.
  • The authority suit alleges detainees are held without charge, lack custody or bond determinations, are missing from the locator system, face restricted access to counsel, and are pressured to sign voluntary removals.