Judge orders Alligator Alcatraz shut down in 60 days, says no more new detainees

Churchill Ndonwie, Miami Herald on Aug 21, 2025

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A federal judge on Thursday barred the DeSantis and Trump administrations from bringing new detainees to Alligator Alcatraz and demanded the state close out operations at the immigration detention facility within 60 days.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, in her 82-page ruling, prohibited the state and federal governments from bringing additional detainees to the detention center, which has drawn mass protests. She also stopped any expansion of the detention facility, including adding industrial lighting or erecting any new buildings, such as tents or dormitories.

Though her order does not prohibit the state from making repairs to the site, the most striking aspect of the order is her demand that the state begin removing all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste items that have transformed the airstrip into a detention center within 60 days, rendering the site uninhabitable. Williams said she expects attrition to make the stripping of the site safe.

The state immediately filed a notice to appeal the decision with the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Williams’ order — a temporary injunction that will hold as the case continues to be litigated — comes in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe arguing that the state and federal governments cut important corners when erecting the site in a matter of days.