Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration detention center in the Everglades

In August, US District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered a halt to further construction and then issued an injunction requiring the center to wind down within weeks,^[16][6] and she refused to pause her order.^[17] A separate federal judge issued a split decision on detainees' legal rights.^[18] A state official said the site would likely be empty within days,^[19] but in September a federal appeals court allowed it to keep operating while the environmental case continued.^[20] The federal government reimbursed Florida $608 million for the center,^[21] and government lawyers said some detainees had likely never been in criminal custody.^[22]

In 2026 former detainees testified about conditions,^[23] and a lawyer said guards had severely beaten and pepper-sprayed detainees.^[24] In April the appeals court ruled again that the center could remain open.^[7] Florida then moved to shut it by early June,^[25] transferred all detainees elsewhere,^[8] and DeSantis said the facility had closed.^[9][26] In September, Florida Democrats in Congress asked state and federal officials about findings in a report on people held there.^[27]