A federal judge Kathleen Williams ordered the state of Florida and the Trump administration to halt all activities at the massive detention center located in the Big Cypress National Reserve, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” and schedule its dismantling within a maximum of 60 days.
The ruling deals a blow to the Republican administration and stems from a lawsuit filed by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Miccosukee Tribe, which seeks to protect Florida’s wildlife and fragile ecosystems threatened by the detention center.
The judge Williams ruled that the detention center’s facilities, located in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site, an area of high environmental sensitivity that the Miccosukee Tribe considers sacred, violate the law.
“The Big Cypress National Reserve was created to protect this area. Since then, 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. This Order does nothing more than fulfill the basic requirements of legislation designed to keep those promises,” the ruling states.
In the 82-page decision, Judge Kathleen Williams cited extensive evidence demonstrating the harm to the Everglades caused by the facility’s operation, which was built without the legally required environmental review.
The decision requires the facility to wind down operations in an orderly manner within 60 days.
The current infrastructure consists of a set of tents and metal modules capable of housing between 3,000 and 5,000 people. The entire perimeter is fenced with 28,000 feet of barbed wire, and over 200 security cameras constantly monitor the area.
However, the most striking feature of the site is not its technology but the peculiar natural barrier surrounding it: vast swamps inhabited by alligators and pythons. The governor has described this defense as “officers who don’t draw a paycheck,” in an attempt to justify the site’s selection as strategic and low-cost.
While the judge had already ordered a temporary halt to any construction two weeks ago while the lawsuit proceeded, her latest decision prohibits the expansion of the center and the transfer of more detained individuals. Additionally, she orders that within a maximum of two months, all temporary fences, artificial lights, generators, and waste systems must be removed.
“This is a crucial victory for the Everglades and for countless Americans who believe this cherished nature must be protected, not exploited,” stated Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades.
“[This ruling] sends a clear message: environmental laws must be respected by leaders at the highest levels of our government, and ignoring them carries consequences,” she continued.
According to critics, this detention center became a symbol of the controversial immigration policy of the Donald Trump administration. More than just a detention facility, it represents a deterrence strategy based on extreme isolation and fear.
The detention center was hastily constructed in June and has the capacity for thousands of detainees. However, it is surrounded by the Big Cypress National Reserve, one of the first national reserves in the United States, which protects ecologically sensitive wetlands and a dozen endangered species, including Florida panthers and Florida bonneted bats.
Image: Opinion
