A detention center built in the middle of Florida’s Everglades to house people suspected of immigration violations, colloquially known as Alligator Alcatraz, can remain open, a three-judge appeals court ruled on April 21.
In a majority opinion, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said the facility, operated by the state of Florida and administered by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), was not built or controlled by the federal government and therefore did not need to comply with federal law requiring an environmental impact statement or review.
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“Florida, not federal, officials built the facility,” the majority wrote. “They control the land and built the facility ‘entirely’ at the expense of the state.”
The order reverses a federal district court judge’s earlier order to dismantle the facility, sending the case back to district court to allow environmental groups and tribal leaders to challenge it while the facility remains open. The dismantling order had been put on hold while the 11th Circuit considered whether the facility housing detainees arrested by federal immigration enforcement officials was under state or federal jurisdiction.
The majority also wrote that the federal government’s use to detain people suspected of committing immigration violations does not constitute federal participation in the planning or construction of the facility, but that “nor do federal detention criteria and the decision to enter into . . . agreements constitute final agency action. The adoption of federal rules cannot “transform a state or local project into a federal one.”
Security contractor GardaWorld primarily built Alligator Alcatraz and has been involved in a number of shelter projects and detention centers for government leaders at the state, federal and municipal levels, intended to house or detain immigrants.
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While the ruling allowing Alligator Alcatraz does not extend beyond the 11th Circuit’s jurisdiction, it is part of a trend in which federal officials buy or use facilities built by state authorities to avoid the longer federal procurement process, which involves an environmental review and several steps that some states do not require.
Last summer, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) secured a $13.5 billion refund for a border wall that Texas built during the Biden administration. The refund was included as a line item in President Trump’s reconciliation package, known colloquially as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
