Posted on 09/04/25
| News Source: CNN
A federal appeals court has blocked a judge’s order requiring Florida and the federal government to shut down and dismantle a controversial immigration detention facility built in the Everglades, widely referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
On Thursday, the Eleventh US Circuit Court of Appeals granted requests from the State of Florida and the US Department of Homeland Security to stay a district court’s preliminary injunction that would have forced the site to wind down operations within 60 days. A preliminary injunction is a temporary order put in place until a court can make a final decision in a case.
“After careful consideration, we grant the defendants’ motions and we stay the preliminary injunction and the underlying case itself pending appeal,” ruled the three appellate judges in the order.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called this a “victory against an activist judge” in a social media post.
“The 11th Circuit not only blocked Judge (Kathleen) Williams’ order to close Alligator Alcatraz, but they blocked her from proceeding with the case until the appeal is complete. A win for Florida and President Trump’s agenda!”
CNN reached out to the Friends of the Everglades and other plaintiffs in the environmental lawsuit at the center of this appeal for comment. The organization says it is reviewing the order.
It had taken only a few days for the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport to be transformed from an 11,000-foot runway into a temporary tent city for migrants when it opened in July.
Ever since then, the makeshift detention facility had been the subject of intense criticism for its treatment of migrants who had been confined there amid sweltering heat, bug infestations and meager meals, prompting members of Congress and state representatives that witnessed the conditions to demand its immediate closure.
And the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida – a Native American tribe whose reservation lies within miles of the facility – had raised concerns about the impact the facility will have on their land and the environmentally sensitive area, including the plants and animals that inhabit the Everglades.
“The project creates irreparable harm in the form of habitat loss and increased mortality to endangered species in the area,” US District Judge Kathleen Williams said in her order in late August.
Despite the controversy surrounding the facility, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is doubling down on immigrant detention centers in his state – including the announcement of a new immigration detention facility he dubbed “Deportation Depot,” which can hold as many as 2,000 detainees.