A federal judge temporarily halted new construction at Florida’s immigration detention center in the Everglades in August 2025, giving the court time to consider claims that the rapidly built facility had proceeded without environmental reviews that the plaintiffs argued were required by federal law.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams of the Southern District of Florida issued a 14-day temporary restraining order on August 7, 2025. The order prevented additional construction work, including new paving, lighting, fencing and buildings, while allowing the detention center — widely known as “Alligator Alcatraz†— to continue operating during the temporary pause.
The decision was an interim order rather than a final ruling on the legality of the facility. It came during a broader lawsuit filed by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity and later joined by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
Why the detention center faced an environmental challenge
Florida developed the detention center at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a remote site surrounded by environmentally sensitive land associated with the Big Cypress and greater Everglades ecosystem.
The plaintiffs’ June 2025 federal complaint named the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Miami-Dade County. They argued that the project was moving forward without environmental analysis required under the National Environmental Policy Act and other applicable laws.
Their case focused in part on whether federal involvement in the detention operation was sufficient to trigger federal environmental-review requirements. The plaintiffs also raised concerns about wetlands, wildlife habitat, artificial lighting, traffic and other effects on the surrounding ecosystem.
The federal government and Florida disputed those arguments. In a July 2025 Justice Department filing, the federal government argued that there was no final federal agency action subject to review under the Administrative Procedure Act and that the plaintiffs had not established the irreparable harm necessary for emergency relief.
What Judge Williams’ temporary order did
Judge Williams issued the temporary restraining order after hearing testimony and arguments while the preliminary-injunction proceedings were still underway. The state was barred from adding new infrastructure at the site for 14 days.
The order did not immediately close the detention center, require the release of detainees or stop immigration enforcement. Those distinctions were significant because the environmental lawsuit concerned construction and environmental-review requirements rather than a final determination about individual detainees’ immigration cases.
Jessica Namath, an environmental advocate who testified for the plaintiffs, told the court that she had recently observed trucks apparently carrying fill material and a soil compactor entering the property, evidence the plaintiffs cited in arguing that construction activity was continuing while the court considered their request.
Florida officials maintained that the environmental effects of work at the pre-existing airport site were limited and continued to defend operation of the facility.
Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis, said after the temporary ruling that detainees would remain at the facility and that the order would not stop immigration enforcement in Florida. He also criticized Judge Williams as an “activist judge,†a political characterization rather than a description of the legal effect of her ruling.
The legal fight quickly moved beyond the 14-day pause
The August 7 order was only the first major judicial intervention in the environmental case. On August 21, 2025, Judge Williams issued a broader preliminary injunction that halted additional construction, barred new detainees from being brought to the facility and required officials to begin winding down parts of the operation. The Center for Biological Diversity described the ruling as granting the environmental plaintiffs’ request for preliminary relief.
That injunction did not remain fully in effect. On September 4, 2025, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit stayed the district court’s preliminary injunction while the appeal proceeded. The stay allowed the detention operation to continue while the dispute over federal involvement and environmental-review requirements remained unresolved.
Later developments
The history of the case continued to evolve well after the original temporary construction halt. According to the environmental plaintiffs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed in June 2026 that detainees had been relocated from the Everglades facility. The groups said the environmental litigation would continue, including disputes over restoration of the site and the legal consequences of the project.
In August 2026, Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and their legal partners filed an amended complaint. They said records obtained after the 2025 appellate proceedings showed that Florida had pursued federal funding for the detention project earlier than had been represented during the litigation. The groups argued that the newly obtained funding records strengthened their contention that federal environmental-review requirements applied. Those assertions became part of the continuing court dispute rather than a final judicial determination of liability.
The environmental lawsuit was also separate from litigation concerning detainees’ access to lawyers, detention procedures and due-process rights. Those cases raised different legal questions and should not be treated as part of the environmental ruling itself.
What the original ruling meant
At the time it was issued, Judge Williams’ August 7, 2025 order was a temporary measure designed to preserve conditions at the site while the court completed its consideration of a preliminary injunction. It did not resolve the environmental case on the merits and did not itself shut down the detention center.
The subsequent preliminary injunction, appellate stay and later developments illustrate how the dispute expanded from an emergency request to pause construction into a longer-running legal battle over federal involvement, environmental review and responsibility for activity at the Everglades site.
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