Judge hears evidence about environmental concerns around Alligator Alcatraz

Source: NBC News

Aug. 6, 2025, 11:35 AM EDT / Updated Aug. 6, 2025, 12:10 PM EDT


A federal judge in Florida may decide Wednesday whether to halt operations at "Alligator Alcatraz," a migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, due to environmental concerns.

The facility, which opened in July, is erected on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades, inside the Big Cypress National Preserve in Ochopee, Florida. It started operations amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and a surge in arrests that have led to overcrowding in Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit in June to halt the facility’s operations, claiming it was built without mandatory ecological reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act. The suit also claims the center was built without public notice or comment and is not in compliance with other state and federal statutes, including the Endangered Species Act.

The Everglades is a marshy habitat for endangered and threatened species like the Florida panther, the Florida bonneted bat, the Everglade snail kite and the wood stork, according to the suit. The construction of the controversial facility also sparked protests in June by environmental activists and Native Americans advocating for their ancestral homelands.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-hears-evidence-environmental-concerns-alligator-alcatraz-rcna223356