'Failed experiment in human suffering': Alligator Alcatraz immigration jail to close [View all]

‘Failed experiment in human suffering’: Alligator Alcatraz immigration jail to close
State officials told vendors at the facility to prepare for a breakdown of the tented camp beginning next month
Richard Luscombe in Miami
Wed 13 May 2026 10.34 EDT


An alliance of environmental groups and immigration advocates has welcomed what looks to be the imminent closure of Alligator Alcatraz, the notorious immigration jail in the remote Florida Everglades celebrated by Donald Trump for its harsh conditions.

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Human rights groups have complained about cruel and inhumane conditions there, including torture, forced disappearances, and denial of legal representation. State and federal officials have denied the mistreatment of any of the 22,000 detainees who have passed through since last July.

Separately, environmental advocates have pursued a lawsuit seeking the camp’s closure, arguing its hasty construction on the site of a training airport caused irreparable damage to the fragile wetlands of the Everglades and ancient homelands of the Miccosukee tribe.

“Alligator Alcatraz is a stain on our nation and a blight on the Everglades, and I look forward to watching this depraved facility bite the dust,” said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/13/alligator-alcatraz-south-florida-detention-center-closure