Court Allows Detention Center To Remain Open
A major win for the Trump administration and the state of Florida came Thursday when the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility can remain open while lawsuits against it move forward. The decision overturned a lower court’s temporary restraining order, which had halted the placement of illegal aliens in the facility last month.
The case originated when environmental groups and an American Indian tribe sued Florida and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that converting a decommissioned airport into a large-scale detention center violated federal environmental laws. But in a 2-1 decision, the appeals court rejected that argument, declaring the plaintiffs had “failed to state a viable claim.”
The majority opinion leaned heavily on national security.
“Given that the federal government has an undisputed and wide-reaching interest in combatting illegal immigration, and that illegal immigration is a matter of national security and public safety, we think the injunction issued below goes against the public interest,” the ruling stated.
HUGE VICTORY FOR ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ. Today’s order is a win for the American people, the rule of law and common sense. This lawsuit was never about the environmental impacts of turning a developed airport into a detention facility. It has and will always be about open-borders…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 4, 2025
Both Florida officials and the Trump administration greeted the ruling with enthusiasm. DHS celebrated in a post on X, calling the case a thinly veiled political maneuver: “This lawsuit was never about the environmental impacts of turning a developed airport into a detention facility. It has and will always be about open-borders activists and judges trying to keep law enforcement from removing dangerous criminal aliens from our communities, full stop.”
Governor Ron DeSantis echoed that sentiment, blasting what he described as “media spin” over the facility’s fate. “The media was giddy that somehow Alligator Alcatraz was ‘shutting down.’ And we told them that wasn’t true,” DeSantis said in a video statement. “There have been illegal aliens continuing to be there and being removed and returned to their home country. But they ran with the narrative because some leftist judge ruled, implausibly, that somehow Florida wasn’t allowed to use our own property to help the federal government in this important mission.”
He doubled down on Florida’s role in the broader immigration fight: “So Alligator Alcatraz is, in fact, like we’ve always said, open for business. The mission continues and we’re going to continue leading the way when it comes to immigration enforcement.”
The facility, located on a sprawling former airfield, has become a flashpoint in the larger debate over how states can support federal immigration enforcement. Its nickname, “Alligator Alcatraz,” underscores both its remote location and its tough reputation.