OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:21 PM – Thursday, August 28, 2025
A federal judge has ruled that the immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” must continue its shutdown operations toward a complete closure by late October this year.
Despite objections from both Florida state officials and the federal government, on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams denied governmental requests to pause her order — leading the facility to vastly lower its number of detainees.
Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, claimed last Friday that the facility is “probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days.”
Williams issued the ruling last week, ordering Florida and the federal government to halt the introduction of new detainees to the facility and slow down operations within 60 days.
Williams’ ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by two local environmental groups who argued that the construction of the facility violated federal law due to a failure to assess the environmental impact, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The Trump administration countered that argument by pointing out the facility was built and operated by the state of Florida, bypassing the need for a NEPA review.
After the news surfaced, border czar Tom Homan criticized the judge’s ruling — though he did confirm that the operations have begun to wind down at the facility.
“I disagree with the judge that made that decision,” Homan maintained, calling Alligator Alcatraz a “great transitional facility.”
Homan also addressed allegations of a lack of cleanliness and access to medical care, stating: “I went down there. I walked into detention areas. I saw a clean, well-maintained facility.”
Homan pointed out that the facility had landing pads and helicopters to take detainees to local trauma centers, if needed, noting that the detainees had access to medical facilities “better than for a lot of U.S. citizens.”
The border czar went on to describe Alligator Alcatraz as a “great transitional facility,” while stressing the need for “more brick-and-mortar” detention facilities.
“I do think ICE needs more brick-and-mortar [facilities],” Homan stated. “We’ve got the money now to build infrastructure…permanent facilities.”
Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) condemned the ruling and explained that the detainees previously housed at Alligator Alcatraz have since been relocated to other immigration facilities.
“This activist judge doesn’t care about the invasion of our country facilitated by the Biden administration, but the American people do. We have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side,” stated a DHS spokesperson.
The Trump administration can appeal a U.S. District Court decision such as this. However, filing an appeal does not automatically pause the district court’s order. The administration would have to request a stay from the appellate court to temporarily halt the closure while the appeal is being considered. In this case, Judge Williams has already denied requests to pause the order at the district level, but the appellate court could review such a request.
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