US court closes ‘Alligator Alcatraz’: No more illegal immigrants to be sent to Florida Everglades centre

A federal judge in the US has ordered the Trump administration and the Florida government not to detain any more migrants in the notorious Everglades detention centre known as “Alligator Alcatraz”.

The judge has also directed authorities to dismantle most sites in the facility, effectively shuttering the facility. The Florida government has announced that it will seek an appeal against the decision.

The detention centre was hastily assembled in just eight days in June with bunk beds, wire cages and large white tents at an abandoned airfield in Florida’s Everglades wetlands, home to a large population of alligators.

President Donald Trump visited the detention centre last month and boasted about the harsh conditions and joking that the reptilian predators would serve as guards. The White House has nicknamed the facility “Alligator Alcatraz,” a reference to the former island prison in San Francisco Bay that Trump has said he wants to reopen.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said that the centre was initially planned to hold 3,000 migrants.

But it has come under fire from both environmentalists and critics of Trump’s crackdown on migration, who consider the facility to be inhumane.

The new ruling on Thursday by District Judge Kathleen Williams comes after a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by Friends of the Everglades and the Centre for Biological Diversity.

The environmental groups argue that the detention centre threatens the sensitive Everglades ecosystem and was hastily built without conducting the legally required environmental impact studies.

Earlier this month, Judge Williams ordered a temporary halt to further construction at the detention centre.

She has now directed the Trump administration and the state of Florida—governed by Republican Ron DeSantis—to dismantle all temporary fencing at the facility within 60 days. The order also requires the removal of all lighting, generators, and waste and sewage treatment systems.

Additionally, the ruling prohibits authorities from bringing any new individuals to the site who were not already being held there.

Several detainees have spoken to AFP about the harsh conditions inside the centre, citing a lack of medical care, mistreatment, and alleged violations of their legal rights.

“They don’t even treat animals like this. This is like torture,” said Luis Gonzalez, a 25-year-old Cuban detainee who spoke to AFP from inside the facility.

Gonzalez said he recently shared a cramped, chain-link enclosed cell with around 30 people, comparing it to a chicken coop.

Despite criticism, the Trump administration has stated its intention to use this facility as a model for similar detention centres nationwide.

With inputs from agencies