U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek denied an emergency request to immediately close the Everglades immigration detention center nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” finding the detainee-plaintiff had not shown irreparable harm. The facility—built this summer by Florida’s DeSantis administration—faces three federal lawsuits alleging state overreach, failure to follow federal law, and restricted access to attorneys. A prior Miami judge ordered a wind-down over environmental-review failures, but an appeals panel stayed that order. Negotiations on attorney-access claims failed after nine hours.
Federal Judge Declines Emergency Order To Close Everglades 'Alligator Alcatraz' Detention Center
FILE - Trucks come and go from the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Collier County, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would have immediately closed an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” finding the detainee who sought that relief had not demonstrated irreparable harm.
U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, said the plaintiff in the case — identified only as M.A. in court filings — had not met the high legal standard required for emergency relief while his broader challenge to the facility proceeds in federal court in Fort Myers, Florida.
“While there may indeed be deficiencies at Alligator Alcatraz that ultimately justify its dissolution, plaintiff has not made the extraordinary showing needed to justify immediate relief of such magnitude,” Dudek wrote.
M.A.’s lawsuit is one of three federal cases challenging practices at the detention site, which the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis constructed this summer on a remote Everglades airstrip. The complaint argues that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and that Florida agencies and private contractors lack authority under federal law to operate the facility.
The suit also alleges that detainees processed at the Everglades site are sometimes removed from standard tracking systems and encounter obstacles when trying to obtain legal help.
Separate Legal Actions
In a separate case last summer, a federal judge in Miami ordered the facility to begin winding down operations over two months after finding officials had failed to complete an environmental-impact review. An appellate court panel later stayed that order, temporarily allowing the center to remain open while the appeals proceed.
The third federal suit centers on detainees’ access to counsel. Plaintiffs say attorneys must schedule visits days in advance at the Everglades site, that detainees have been transferred after appointments were made, and that scheduling delays have sometimes prevented meetings before key deadlines. A judge ordered lawyers for the detainees and for the state and federal defendants to meet to try to resolve the dispute; the parties said they were unable to reach an agreement after nine hours of talks.
Judge Dudek emphasized caution in denying the emergency injunction, noting the significant consequences of ordering an immediate closure of a large, costly detention complex before the court has ruled on the underlying legal questions about its lawfulness. The litigation over the center’s authority, operations and detainee rights is ongoing.
___
Follow Mike Schneider on Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social
