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'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration centre can stay open, appeals court rules

September 4, 2025

A federal appeals court in Atlanta has overturned a lower court order that would have required the closure of Alligator Alcatraz, an immigration detention center in Florida's Everglades. The 2-1 ruling allows the facility to remain operational while a lawsuit from environmental groups and a Native American tribe continues. The appellate court determined that state and federal officials would likely succeed in proving the facility wasn't subject to environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act because it hadn't received federal funding.

Who is affected

  • Detainees held at Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center
  • Environmental groups (Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Everglades)
  • The Miccosukee Tribe, whose ancestral land is potentially threatened
  • The Everglades ecosystem (a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
  • Florida state government officials
  • Department of Homeland Security

What action is being taken

  • The Department of Homeland Security is continuing to operate the Alligator Alcatraz facility
  • The federal appeals court is allowing the detention center to stay open during ongoing litigation
  • The detention center is functioning in a converted, previously abandoned Florida airport in the Everglades

Why it matters

  • The case represents a conflict between immigration enforcement and environmental protection
  • The detention center is located in the environmentally sensitive Everglades, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • The facility's operation affects the Miccosukee Tribe's ancestral lands
  • The legal dispute highlights tensions between state/federal authorities and environmental/tribal interests
  • The ruling demonstrates different judicial approaches, with Trump-appointed judges supporting the facility and Obama-appointed judges opposing it

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article, though it is mentioned that "the case isn't even close to over" according to a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs.

Read full article from source: BBC