Judge orders dismantling of Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz'
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A US federal judge has ordered the dismantling of the controversial "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention center in Florida, citing environmental and human rights concerns.
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Rana Mourer waves an American flag outside of the migrant detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Saturday, July 12, 2025 in Ochopee, Fla. (AP)
A US federal judge prohibited both the Trump administration and the Florida state government on Thursday from transporting any new migrants to the detention center commonly referred to as "Alligator Alcatraz," while ordering the site to be dismantled, an action which effectively shuts down the facility.
The Florida government announced that it will immediately appeal the decision.
According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the center was planned to hold 3,000 migrants, but it has faced significant criticism from both environmentalists and opponents of Trump's immigration crackdown, who argue that the facility's conditions are inhumane.
This new ruling by District Judge Kathleen Williams was issued in response to a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by the environmental groups Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity. The environmental groups argue that the detention center threatens the sensitive Everglades ecosystem and was hastily built without conducting the legally required environmental impact studies.
Sixty days to dismantle
Earlier this month, Williams had ordered further construction at the center to be temporarily halted, and now she has ordered the Trump administration and the state of Florida to remove all temporary fencing installed at the center within 60 days. They must additionally dismantle lighting, generators, and waste and sewage systems.
The order also prohibits bringing any additional persons onto the site who were not already being detained there.
Several detainees have spoken with AFP about the conditions at the center, including a 25-year-old Cuban man named Luis Gonzalez who recently shared a cell with about 30 people in a space enclosed by chain-linked fencing which he compared to a chicken coop. He described a lack of medical care, mistreatment, and the alleged violation of their legal rights, with Gonzalez stating from inside the center, "They don't even treat animals like this. This is like torture."
