Poli Alert Politics & Civics
Related Articles
The Department of Homeland Security has begun transferring detainees out of Florida’s controversial state-run immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” days after a federal judge ordered parts of the facility dismantled.
In a statement Wednesday, DHS said detainees were being moved to other centers across the country in response to a court order issued last week by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams. The agency criticized the ruling as “another attempt to prevent the President from fulfilling the American people’s mandate to remove the worst of the worst.”
“DHS is complying with this order and moving detainees to other facilities. We will continue to fight tooth-and-nail to remove the worst of the worst from American streets,” the agency said.
Judge halts expansion
Williams’ ruling indefinitely halted new construction at the site, located on a remote former airstrip in the Florida Everglades, and barred the transfer of additional detainees there. She also directed state officials to remove fencing, lights, generators, and other infrastructure within 60 days, siding with environmental advocates who argued the project violated federal law.
Florida’s state government quickly appealed the ruling, but Williams on Wednesday declined to freeze her order pending appeal, rejecting arguments from both the Trump administration and state officials.
In her order, Williams noted that federal and state authorities had not presented “new evidence” showing that detainees at Alligator Alcatraz were especially dangerous or that closing the site would undermine immigration enforcement.
Allegations of abuse
The Everglades facility, operated by Florida under a partnership with the Trump administration, has drawn sharp criticism from immigrant-rights advocates, who allege detainees were held in inhumane conditions — including poor access to food, clean water, and legal counsel. Federal and state officials have denied the accusations.
“Alligator Alcatraz” is the subject of multiple lawsuits. One ongoing case alleges detainees have been unable to meet privately with their attorneys. Another, filed last week, argues Florida lacks the legal authority to operate an immigration detention center on behalf of the federal government.
Earlier this month, a judge dismissed part of a separate lawsuit alleging the government obscured which immigration court had jurisdiction over detainees at the facility, but allowed other claims to move forward.
Wider push for state-run detention
The site was part of the Trump administration’s broader strategy to expand immigration detention capacity by partnering with Republican-led states. Officials in Indiana and Nebraska have offered to convert state prisons into detention centers, and DHS has explored similar arrangements elsewhere.
The administration framed “Alligator Alcatraz” as both a cost-effective solution and a deterrent, pointing to its isolated location surrounded by alligator-inhabited wetlands. But environmental groups and human rights advocates said the project endangered both detainees and protected lands.
What comes next
Although Williams’ ruling did not mandate an immediate shutdown, DHS’s decision to transfer detainees signals the facility’s future is in jeopardy. Florida has vowed to continue fighting in court, while immigrant advocates and environmental groups are pressing for a permanent closure.
A Florida emergency official told a South Florida rabbi last week that the facility would likely be empty “within a few days,” according to the Associated Press.
For now, the Everglades detention experiment stands as one of the most polarizing symbols of Trump’s immigration crackdown — caught between the president’s enforcement push, environmental protections, and the rights of detainees.
