A federal judge has ordered the shutdown of “Alligator Alcatraz,” the controversial immigrant detention center deep in the Florida Everglades, citing environmental damage and legal violations in its construction.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams issued the ruling Thursday, directing that no new detainees be sent to the site and that existing detainees be moved within 60 days.
The order also requires the dismantling of much of the equipment installed to support the facility and blocks the government from undertaking any new construction at the detention center.
“The project creates irreparable harm in the form of habitat loss and increased mortality to endangered species in the area,” Williams wrote in her order. She concluded that federal immigration enforcement was a “key driver” of the project, meaning it should have been subject to federal environmental law, a step the state and federal government skipped.
The detention center has been plagued by lawsuits and reports of “inhumane” living conditions, including food contamination, inadequate water access, and extreme temperatures.
One Florida State representative told Salon that the center was “modern concentration camp, plain and simple,” in July.
Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe, whose lands border the site, challenged the project, warning it threatened wetlands that supply water to South Florida. Williams agreed, saying the state had “consulted with no stakeholders or experts and did no evaluation of the environmental risks.”
A spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office said on X that it would seek to appeal the ruling, saying that Williams’ district was the “improper venue” for a lawsuit about the center, and that the judge had overstepped her authority. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ spokesman told CNN: “The deportations will continue until morale improves.”
In the ruling, the judge notes that officials have been dedicated to preserving the Everglades since its was established as a National Park in 1947. “Every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades,” Williams wrote. “This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises.”
The injunction is temporary and the legal process will continue.
