On Thursday, a federal judge temporarily arrested any additional construction of the Immigrant Detention Center known as “Cocodrilo Alcatraz”.
The American district judge Kathleen Mary Williams granted a temporary restriction order after two days of testimony on the environmental impact of the site.
The state of Florida and the administration of President Donald Trump can continue to use the facilities and detainees of the House of Representatives there, but any additional construction must stop for 14 days.
An aerial view shows the “Aligator Alcatraz” Ice Center at the Training and Transition Airport of Dade-Collier in Ochopee, Florida, July 24, 2025.
Bello/Reuters Marco
While the hearing would resume on Tuesday, Judge Williams granted the temporary order to avoid possible damage to the Everglades sensitive ecosystem in the meantime.
The environmental groups and the Miccosukee tribe of the Florida Indians urged Judge Williams to block the construction site because the detention center was completed without carrying out the necessary impact studies. The area houses multiple sensitive species, including Florida Panther in danger of extinction, and is considered sacred for the Miccosukee tribe.
“We welcome the decision of the court to stop the construction of this deeply worrying project. The detention center threatens the land that is not only environmentally sensitive but sacred to our people. While this order is temporary, it is an important step to affirm our rights and protect our homeland. The Miccosukee tribe will continue in search of our culture, our pride and the Everglades.”
A spokesman for Florida Ag James Uthmeier’s office issued a statement to ABC News in response to the judge’s ruling.
“The order of Judge Williams is incorrect, and we will fight.
The judge’s decision on Thursday occurs after Wednesday’s hearing only saw five witnesses called the stand by the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit, instead of the multiple state and federal officials who were ready to testify.
The issue is the question of whether federal and state officials overlooked environmental impact studies legally required during the construction of the installation, which the plaintiffs say that it must block it from being used as a detention center.
The lawyers representing Florida officials have argued that the installation was initially financed, built and administered by the State and, therefore, is exempt from the National Environmental Policy Law, the main law that is used to challenge compliance with the installation.
The Alcatraz crocodile has operated so far in what immigration defenders have described as a jurisdictional gray zone, with the installation financed by the federal government but administered by the state of Florida, which claim that officials allow officials to avoid some legal requirements.
The governor of Florida, Ron Desantis, has previously argued that the state of Florida is “implementing” the federal government’s immigration policy with the expectation that the State will be completely reimbursed the costs of Alcatraz, but until now local and federal officials have not been able to say to federal courts that are really in charge of the installation.
The hearing, in which federal, state and tribal officials testify, occurs in the midst of greater scrutiny of the installation, which was once promoted as a “unique window to carry out the mass deportation agenda of President Trump.”
Located 50 miles west of Miami in the heart of the Florida Everglades, the Alcatraz crocodile was rapidly built for a matter of weeks, using hundreds of tents, trailers and other temporary facilities to accommodate more than 3,000 detainees.
The installation was built on the lands of the training and transition airport of Dade-Collier, a piece of asphalt barely used owned by the Miami-Dade County.
The Alcatraz crocodile also resorted to the Indian tribe of Miccosukee, including villages, a school, traditional hunting areas and sacred sites. The Miccosukee tribe joined the lawsuit last month, arguing that the installation threatens to damage the nearby tribal villages.
This is a development story. Consult the updates again.
