Florida officials didn't disclose funding request for 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility, lawsuit says
Source: AP
Updated 2:44 PM EDT, October 14, 2025
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida officials failed to disclose that they had applied for federal reimbursement for an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” leading to a false impression before an appellate court panel that put on hold a judge’s order to wind down operations at the facility, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
The public records lawsuit was filed in state court in Tallahassee by the Friends of the Everglades, which along with another environmental group and the Miccosukee Tribe, sued federal and state agencies, alleging they didn’t follow federal law requiring an environmental review for the detention center in the middle of sensitive wetlands.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams agreed and ordered in August that the facility needed to wind down operations within two months. However, that injunction was put on hold in early September when a federal appellate court panel in Atlanta issued a stay, pending the outcome of an appeal, allowing the facility to stay open for the time being.
A majority on the three-judge panel said the state-run facility didn’t need to undergo a federally required environmental impact study because Florida had yet to receive federal money for the project.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/florida-immigration-environment-alligator-alcatraz-96c118d68870b90335e3a7cffc875b9f
Link to Friends of the Everglades LAWSUIT UPDATE - We just filed another lawsuit to uncover “Alligator Alcatraz” secrets
Link to Friends of the Everglades PRESS RELEASE - Friends of the Everglades files suit to get public records on Everglades detention center
Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://www.everglades.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Complaint_101425.pdf