{"id":270805,"date":"2026-05-14T12:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270805\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T12:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:42:08","slug":"florida-to-close-alligator-alcatraz-news-report-says-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270805\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida to close Alligator Alcatraz, news report says"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News<\/a>, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By Amy Green, Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

Florida plans to shut down the Everglades migrant detention site known as Alligator Alcatraz as soon as early June, according to a news report.<\/p>\n

Officials at the site told vendors this week the facility, which is located in a sensitive region of the river of grass, will close and detainees will be moved elsewhere, The New York Times<\/a> reported. State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) confirmed the reporting to Inside Climate News, citing conversations with two congressional members she declined to identify publicly. But Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, was vague about the facility\u2019s future when asked about it Wednesday during a news briefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you get the job done without that close cooperation where we are assisting in this important mission, but if they have beds other places where they\u2019re able to do it, that\u2019s fine. That was never meant to be permanent,\u201d he said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t build any permanent facilities down there because we knew it was going to be temporary. Now, I have not gotten official word that they\u2019re going to not be sending illegal aliens there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA sign outside Alligator Alcatraz (iStock image)<\/p>\n

The Florida Division of Emergency Management was similarly vague in a statement provided to Inside Climate News: \u201cIf federal operational needs evolve and the Department of Homeland Security implements alternative plans for the South Florida detention facility, the state will pivot accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security added in a statement: \u201cAny reports that DHS is pressuring the state to cease operations at Alligator Alcatraz are false. Florida continues to be a valuable partner in advancing President Trump\u2019s immigration agenda, and DHS appreciates their support. DHS continuously evaluates detention needs and requirements to ensure they meet the latest operational requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

The development comes after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April invalidated a preliminary injunction<\/a> issued by U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams, who in August 2025 had ordered the facility to wind down. The case now will go back to Williams, who will decide next steps.<\/p>\n

The ruling enabled the detention facility to continue operating while environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe pursue litigation over environmental concerns at the site. The plaintiffs say the federal and state governments unlawfully rushed the facility to completion without a required environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act.<\/p>\n

The government agencies contend the site is a state and not a federal one, and that therefore such a review is not necessary. The agencies also say the facility\u2019s impact on the environment is minimal.<\/p>\n

The Everglades are responsible for the drinking water of millions of people in the state. A $27 billion restoration effort is among the most ambitious of its kind in human history.<\/p>\n

Alligator Alcatraz opened in early July 2025 as part of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown. The environmental groups said they plan to continue their litigation despite the detention facility\u2019s expected closure. They said that based on published reports, the site would be shuttered just days before they are scheduled to resume their litigation in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not letting up in court,\u201d said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, one of the groups involved in the litigation. \u201cEven when it does close it will be really important to press forward to full remediation of the harm that was caused, and our legal team is in very active talks about how to ensure that outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banner photo: President Donald Trump and other officials tour Alligator Alcatraz on July 1 (DHSgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here<\/a>. If you are interested in submitting an opinion piece to The Invading Sea, email Editor Nathan Crabbe<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3120,28,21636,6765,30,29,106916,106917,412,5330],"class_list":["post-270805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-alligator-alcatraz","tag-florida","tag-florida-division-of-emergency-management","tag-florida-everglades","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-miccosukee-tribe-of-indians-of-florida","tag-national-environmental-policy-act","tag-ron-desantis","tag-u-s-department-of-homeland-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}