Federal judge denies bid to close Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center

A federal judge on Thursday denied a request for a preliminary injunction to close the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz. U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek, a Trump appointee, said the detainee who filed the suit had not shown irreparable harm while the facility’s legality is litigated in Fort Myers, Florida.

M.A., the detainee identified in court papers, argued that immigration policy is a federal matter and that Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state lack authority to operate the facility under federal law. The lawsuit also contends that detainees who enter Alligator Alcatraz disappear from the normal detainee-tracking system and have limited access to legal help. Dudek noted that the plaintiff had not met the extraordinary showing needed for immediate relief, warning that the detainee was essentially asking the court to shutter a sizable and expensive facility before any decision on the merits of its legality. "While there may indeed be deficiencies at Alligator Alcatraz that ultimately justify its dissolution, plaintiff has not made the extraordinary showing needed to justify immediate relief of such magnitude."

The center was built this summer at a remote airstrip in the Everglades by the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The detainee’s lawsuit is one of three federal challenges to the facility, which DeSantis aides have defended as a necessary step in managing immigration enforcement along the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast. The detainee contends that federal control over detention decisions should supersede state activity, and that the status of detainees and their access to counsel have been compromised by the operation at the site.

In a broader context, two other cases are moving separately through federal courts. In Miami, a judge last summer ordered the facility to wind down operations over two months because officials had failed to complete an environmental-impact review. An appellate court panel stayed that decision for the time being, allowing the center to stay open while the challenge proceeds. In the third lawsuit, detainees seek a ruling to ensure confidential communications with their attorneys. They claim that attorneys must schedule visits days in advance and that detainees are sometimes transferred before appointments occur; delays have, they say, impeded meetings before deadlines. A federal judge in that case ordered the detainees’ lawyers and state and federal defense attorneys to meet, but nine hours of talks on a scheduled date did not yield a resolution.

The judge’s ruling in the injunction case underscores the ongoing legal dispute over the facility’s legality and governance. Dudek emphasized that the merits of the case will determine the center’s future, not an emergency ruling. The lawsuits point to broader questions about how far state governments can supervise facilities that handle immigration detainees and how those facilities interact with federal authorities and legal advocates.

The Alligator Alcatraz facility, built at a high-priority site in the Everglades, has become a focal point for debates over detention policy and state authority in immigration enforcement. While the court’s decision avoids a sudden closure, observers say the lawsuits are far from resolved, and the outcomes could shape how state and federal agencies coordinate in managing detainees in similar facilities in the future. The legal process will continue to unfold in federal courts in Florida and around the country, with next steps likely to include further filings, hearings, and potential negotiations among the parties.