Judge Dismisses Part of Alligator Alcatraz Lawsuit, Transfers Rest

The civil rights challenge to the Everglades detention center is moving to Florida’s Middle District after the judge found some claims moot.

Work progresses on the "Alligator Alcatraz" detention facility in the Florida Everglades, in Ochopee, Fla., on July 4, 2025. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

A federal judge issued a split ruling in a lawsuit challenging the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, dismissing part of the case while sending the remainder to another court.

U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz in Miami ruled on Aug. 18 that detainees’ claims they lacked access to immigration courts were now moot after the Trump administration designated the Krome North Processing Center near Miami to hear their cases.

“After numerous hearings, affidavits, status conferences, and supplemental filings, it has become readily apparent that Plaintiff’s Complaint suffers from two key flaws. For one, Plaintiff’s Fifth Amendment claim has been rendered moot,” Ruiz wrote in a 47-page order, adding that the lawsuit’s “tortured procedural history” had shifted with each filing.

The judge also found the alleged violations did not arise in the Southern District of Florida.

“Venue matters,” he wrote, transferring the surviving claims to the Middle District of Florida, where the detention center is located.

Civil rights groups, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, had sought a preliminary injunction to ensure detainees could meet privately with lawyers and challenge their detention.

“Defendants currently hold approximately 700 immigrant detainees at the facility, and have barred detained immigrants from communicating confidentially with legal counsel,” their motion stated, asking the court to require private, unmonitored calls and stop officials from reading legal papers.

The suit also alleged that detainees were pressured to sign voluntary deportation orders without legal advice.

“One intellectually disabled detainee was told to sign a paper in exchange for a blanket, but was then deported subject to voluntary removal after he signed, without the ability to speak to his counsel,” the plaintiffs’ reply in support of their injunction request stated.

Government lawyers countered that the facility—still under construction on a remote airfield—had been updated to allow attorney meetings and that documents were only screened for contraband.

One attorney argued that the plaintiffs’ claims were really an effort to close the site, saying they were trying to “fragment, to prolong, [and] to block” deportation efforts.

Ruiz agreed that the First Amendment claims “are very much alive,” but ruled they should be litigated in the Middle District.

The Everglades site, formally called the Collier-Dade Training and Transition Detention Center but widely known as Alligator Alcatraz, has already drawn court battles.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered a 14-day halt on new construction after environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe argued the project violated federal review requirements.

This marks the second major federal lawsuit over the site, officially known as the Collier‑Dade Training and Transition Detention Center but widely called “Alligator Alcatraz.”

In early August, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams halted further construction for 14 days after environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe argued that the facility was built without required environmental reviews. Williams has yet to issue a ruling on venue.

The facility was built under emergency powers granted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who authorized Kevin Guthrie, head of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, to take over the Dade-Collier airfield and construct the center.

Ringed by more than 28,000 feet of barbed wire, the site sits more than 50 miles west of Miami within the Big Cypress National Preserve, home to some 30,000 alligators.

“We like the idea of reopening the original Alcatraz,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said earlier this year.

“I don’t know if that can happen or not, but we thought, ‘Hey, we’ve got our own natural Alcatraz in the middle of the Everglades, great runway, great, great perimeter. So let’s, let’s make it happen.’”

Environmental groups remain opposed.

“This project has been rushed through with zero analysis of the impacts of all the vehicles and the thousands of people that will be detained or work on the site,” Earthjustice attorney Alisa Coe said at a July 1 news conference.

“The Everglades deserves more, and that’s why we’re in court.”

T.J. Muscaro contributed to this report.