A federal judge in Miami has ordered the closure of the Trump administration’s controversial immigration detention centre known as “Alligator Alcatraz”, ruling that the facility must be shut down within 60 days.
District Court Judge Kathleen Williams delivered her decision late on Thursday, prohibiting any further detainees from being transferred to the site while it is wound down. The ruling follows a temporary restraining order issued two weeks ago halting construction at the remote tented camp, which has faced heavy criticism over poor conditions, alleged abuse of detainees and lack of due process.
In her 82-page judgment, released on Friday, Williams concluded that the detention camp was causing severe and irreparable harm to the fragile Everglades ecosystem. She noted that proposals to develop the same site into a large airport had been rejected in the 1960s for similar environmental reasons.
“Since that time, every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation and protection of the Everglades,” she wrote. “This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfil those promises.”
Williams ordered that no new construction may take place at the site, and that no increase in detainee numbers, currently estimated at about 700, would be permitted. After the 60-day period, all construction materials, fencing, generators and fixtures must be removed.
The ruling marks a significant victory for environmental groups and a Native American tribe that brought the lawsuit against the state of Florida and the federal government. They argued that the rapid eight-day construction of the jail at a disused airfield in June had caused extensive damage to wetlands and further endangered protected species.
“This is a landmark victory for the Everglades and countless Americans who believe this imperilled wilderness should be protected, not exploited,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, one of the groups involved in the case. “It sends a clear message that environmental laws must be respected by leaders at the highest levels of our government, and there are consequences for ignoring them.”
The ruling represents a setback for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. The camp, which at its peak held around 1,400 detainees, was promoted by the former president as a facility for “some of the most vicious people on the planet”, despite the fact that hundreds of detainees had no criminal record or pending charges.
Florida Department of Emergency Management, others mum
The Florida Department of Emergency Management, which operates the camp on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Homeland Security have not yet commented. However, state lawyers indicated in court last week that they would appeal any ruling against them, according to the Miami Herald.
Hundreds of detainees were transferred out of “Alligator Alcatraz” last weekend in anticipation of the court’s decision. Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has already announced plans to open a new immigration detention centre at a disused prison near Gainesville.
