Is ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ facing closure? Trump and DeSantis’ immigrant detention center threatened by environmental lawsuit

It seems that Trump’s mega-prison is indeed all [insert alligator noise] and no bite.

The hugely controversial facility is currently facing two lawsuits and could see operations halted: Democratic lawmakers have labelled the conditions at the swampy site as barbaric, with “wall-to-wall humans” “packed into cages.”

As well as that, environmental activists are concerned that Alligator Alcatraz, which is close to marshlands, are a crucial source of freshwater and drinking water for South Florida residents.

Tania Galloni, the Earthjustice managing attorney for Florida, which represents some of the plaintiffs, said: “Defending the Everglades in this legal case is critically important. This is a public natural resource we all depend on, and transforming this site into a mass detention centre is reckless, especially without any environmental review.”

Republican stalwart and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida recently announced another immigrant detention site, branded the “Deportation Depot”, at the mothballed Baker Correctional Institution in North Florida. The $6 million vanity project is designed to hold more than a thousand people and could be operational within weeks. Unlike its infamous counterpart in the Everglades, this site sits near an airport and existing infrastructure, making it far cheaper and more practical. Praise be.

The move from DeSantis comes as the Trump administration’s signature immigration project has quickly become a national symbol of cruelty, waste, and dysfunction. Built on an abandoned airstrip deep in the Everglades, it costs taxpayers hundreds of millions annually, while endangering detainees in an environment surrounded by alligators. Even worse, the camp is so isolated that lawyers struggle to reach clients, making due process nearly impossible, something the facility denies.

The Florida Keys Immigration lawsuit says that: “Defendants in this case have blocked detainees held at the facility from access to legal counsel. No protocols exist at this facility for providing standard means of confidential attorney-client communication, such as in-person attorney visitation and phone or video calls that are available at any other detention facility, jail, or prison.” It names Department of Homeland Security SecretaryKristi Noem and other officials as defendants.

The Florida Immigrant Coalition hit out at the facility, with spokesperson Thomas Kennedy telling CNN on Thursday that the Trump administration have “created this capacity issue at detention camps by indiscriminate witch hunting against immigrants,” adding that “it’s a solution in search of a problem.”

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“DeSantis stood at a press conference and said that these tents can withstand a category 2 hurricane when we’ve seen with our own eyes how the site flooded with just a regular summer Florida rain during the first day when Trump was there.”

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