Anti Alligator Alcatraz Activists Get Bad News as Appeals Court Halts Judge’s Order [WATCH]

A federal appeals court on Thursday halted a lower court ruling that would have forced Florida to shut down its controversial immigration detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” located in the middle of the Everglades.

In a 2-1 decision, the appeals panel granted a stay of U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ preliminary injunction, which had ordered the state to scale down operations at the facility by the end of October and transfer detainees to other sites.

Judge Williams’ order also required Florida to dismantle equipment and fencing at the detention center.

The lawsuit was brought by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Miccosukee Tribe, who argued that state and federal officials failed to follow laws requiring environmental reviews.

The groups claim the detention center threatens wetlands that are home to protected wildlife and plants.

“This is a heartbreaking blow to America’s Everglades and every living creature there, but the case isn’t even close to over,” Elise Bennett, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement following the appeals court ruling.

The facility was constructed in June 2024 after Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration converted a single-runway training airport deep in the Everglades into a detention site for illegal aliens.

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DeSantis said the remote location was designed to make escape attempts nearly impossible.

President Donald Trump toured the site in July, praising it as a model for future facilities that could be replicated nationwide as part of his broader deportation and detention initiative.

On Thursday, DeSantis welcomed the appeals court decision and rejected speculation that the facility would soon be shuttered.

“We said we would fight that. We said the mission would continue. So Alligator Alcatraz is in fact, like we’ve always said, open for business,” he wrote on social media.

The mission continues at Alligator Alcatraz.

The media was wrong.

The leftist judge has been overturned.

Florida will keep leading the way. pic.twitter.com/Ik2fJnqXIP

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 4, 2025

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also praised the ruling.

“This lawsuit was never about the environmental impacts of turning a developed airport into a detention facility,” DHS said in a statement.

“It has and will always be about open-borders activists and judges trying to keep law enforcement from removing dangerous criminal aliens from our communities, full stop.”

Florida officials confirmed in court filings that the state would resume admitting detainees into the facility if the appeals court allowed it to remain open, a step now cleared by Thursday’s ruling.

Despite the setback, environmental and tribal groups vowed to continue pressing their case.

“In the meantime, if the DeSantis and Trump administrations choose to ramp operations back up at the detention center, they will just be throwing good money after bad because this ill-considered facility — which is causing harm to the Everglades — will ultimately be shut down,” Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said in a statement.

One of the central arguments in the case is whether federal environmental review requirements apply to “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Plaintiffs contend that because Florida financed the project without direct federal funds, the facility falls outside federal jurisdiction, even though it houses detainees in federal custody.

The appeals court, in largely siding with Florida, acknowledged those arguments but determined that Judge Williams’ order should be paused until the case is fully resolved on appeal.

For now, the ruling ensures that “Alligator Alcatraz” remains operational as litigation continues over the facility’s future.

The broader battle pits state and federal officials seeking to expand detention capacity against environmental and tribal groups determined to shut the facility down permanently.