‘Alligator Alcatraz’: a review of unprecedented developments in U.S. immigration enforcement procedure

On July 1st, 2025, the U.S.’s first state-owned immigration detention centre opened in Florida, located on the grounds of a largely abandoned airstrip¹. The facility is colloquially called ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, a reference to the notorious Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary that used to operate on an island off the coast of California, a location tactically chosen to prevent inmate escapes². Alligator Alcatraz is likewise situated in the Everglades, a remote wetland home to a wide array of wildlife including the American Alligator. In December 2025, Amnesty International released a human-rights report that claims the treatment of detainees at Alligator Alcatraz violates international law, noting an evasion of due process³. In light of this, it is pertinent to deconstruct the legal, environmental, and ethical implications of Alligator Alcatraz, ensuring the secluded nature of the facility does not similarly isolate the people inside from public thought and awareness.

The legal domain of Florida immigration enforcement

As immigration is a federal responsibility in the U.S.⁴, the state-run nature of Alligator Alcatraz is abnormal. The ability for Alligator Alcatraz to open dates back to 2023, when Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Florida through Executive Order 23-03⁵. The suggested cause of the emergency departed from the typical Florida hurricane, instead being cited as “the migration of unauthorized aliens to the State of Florida is likely to constitute a major disaster”⁶. While this type of executive order expires after 60 days⁷, DeSantis continues to extend it. When a state of emergency is raised, the governor has the authority to mobilise emergency procedures and state agencies as needed⁸. Under these powers, DeSantis was able to accelerate the construction of Alligator Alcatraz, commandeering the land from Miami-Dade County⁹ and paying for it through discretionary funds allocated to the Florida Division of Emergency Management¹⁰. The detention centre, consisting of large tents and employee trailers, was built in eight days and began receiving individuals on July 2^nd, 2025, with a possible capacity of 3,000 detainees¹¹.

Executive Order 23-03 alone does not fully permit state agencies to run a federal detention centre. To bypass this, Florida state officials claim they have the authority to operate the facility through 287(g) agreements¹². This type of agreement, allowed under the Immigration and National Act since 1996, lets Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorise state/local law enforcement individuals to perform various immigration officer functions while under ICE oversight¹³. The use of 287(g) agreements was heightened when President Trump took office in 2025 and issued Executive Order 14159, which encouraged the use of the agreements and reinstated a more aggressive disciplinary model with a track record for racial profiling¹⁴.

On August 22^nd, 2025, a complaint was filed on behalf of an Alligator Alcatraz detainee, arguing that 287(g) agreements cannot lawfully be used to create a state-run immigration jail because they “do not give any authority to state agencies themselves”¹⁵. The complaint asks a federal court in Florida to recognise that the facility evades the law, and requests a preliminary injunction that would halt the detainment of individuals at Alligator Alcatraz¹⁶. While this case, M.A. v. Guthrie (Collier County), is ongoing, on December 18^th, 2025, the order for a preliminary injunction was denied¹⁷.

Environmental Neglect

The M.A. v. Guthrie (Collier County) case was not the first to scrutinise the legality of Alligator Alcatraz. Due to the centre’s ecologically sensitive locality, and as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, an environmental impact assessment is supposed to be conducted before its build¹⁸. In a lawsuit brought against the state on June 27^th, 2025, lawyers from Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity argued that the site’s lack of environmental review is out of compliance with federal law; they requested that the site’s construction be stopped until proper analysis of its impact on the surrounding environment is completed¹⁹.

While lawyers for the state argued the centre is state-run²⁰, and hence federal law does not apply, the plaintiffs’ evidence called that assertion into question. It included comments made by Governor DeSantis during a June 25^th conference that indicated the facility was requested and fully funded by the federal government. The wording of Mr. Guthrie, head of FDEM, was also scrutinised. A letter he wrote to Miami-Dade County officials finalising the state’s intent to commandeer the airstrip mentioned it would be used to “assist the federal government with immigration enforcement.”²¹ In essence, a judgment on whether a state-run facility can bypass federal requirements is made difficult when it cannot be verified that the facility is, in fact, state-run.

Notably, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians later joined the lawsuit²², with their villages and ceremonial sites neighbouring the detention centre. Lawyers for the tribe argued that the facility’s operations require a proper environmental assessment to ensure the survival of surrounding game/fish stocks, which are the tribe’s traditional right to catch²³. Runoff from the facility also flows towards the Miccosukee residences, likely to increase due to the paving required for the facility’s construction²⁴. This elicits concerns that waste contaminants in the flow could degrade environmental and human health. The facility’s location may also be a serious issue for encompassing wildlife, with several species in the area classified as endangered²⁵.

This suit’s initial court hearings prompted a federal judge to grant the request for a preliminary injunction on August 20th, 2025, ordering the facility’s operations to fully wind down in a period of sixty days²⁶. However, when the case was appealed to a higher federal court, the lower court’s order was paused²⁷. Operations at Alligator Alcatraz, having been deemed to contain no federal ties, were allowed to continue.

Ethical concerns

Assessing the quality of life and access to legal liberties of detainees at Alligator Alcatraz is, unfortunately, a difficult pursuit, with the general public not being allowed to enter the facility, and allegations of mistreatment being denied by government officials²⁸. This denial is puzzling, however, as some federal and state leaders have indicated that they are hoping intimidating facilities like Alligator Alcatraz will act as deterrents to subsequently inspire increased self-deportations²⁹. 

Notably, unlike other detention facilities, lawyers must schedule an appointment three days in advance to see their clients at Alligator Alcatraz³⁰. Ongoing lawsuits claim that when such appointments are made, detainees are often transferred to another facility, creating a clear block to legal councel³¹. This situation is exacerbated by the facility’s lack of federal oversight and the names of detainees not showing up in ICE’s online database³². A lack of public detainee documentation hinders the ability for loved ones to know detainees’ whereabouts, inciting fear and misinformation. 

Additionally, detainees make several distressing claims when describing their experiences at the facility. For reference, each tent at the facility contains cages that hold up to thirty-two individuals, with toilets located in every cage³³. According to Amnesty International, detainees report that the lighting inside the tents is on at all times, shower allowance is limited to once a week, mosquitoes are a pervasive nuisance, air conditioning systems break down regularly, medical care is insufficient, and toilets get backed up and overflow, resulting in unsanitary conditions³⁴. This list is non-exhaustive, but indicates individuals find their time at the centre to be disorienting and dehumanising. 

The Florida Governor’s office responded to Amnesty’s report by stating, “none of these fabrications are true”³⁵, and outward support for the facility remains strong amongst several state government officials. In fact, the Republican Party of Florida has been selling Alligator Alcatraz themed merchandise since its opening³⁶. One can buy Alligator Alcatraz shirts, beverage coolers, and hats from their website, and by September 2025, the party had sold a total of $125,000 worth of the products³⁷. Other public officials have condemned the party’s commercialisation of allegedly severe detainment conditions, with the chair of the Florida Democratic Party asserting that the GOP’s selling of merch is “not creating a civilized society. It's creating one that's built on divisiveness, cruelty, and chaos.”³⁸ 

Finally, claims that Alligator Alcatraz detainees are being mistreated are not limited to their time inside the centre. When Amnesty International interviewed individuals who had been transferred to Alligator Alcatraz from local jails, they explained that they were shackled in various places the entire duration of their bus rides, with one asylum seeker claiming he was shackled and held on a transfer bus for 28 hours³⁹. As many individuals taken to the facility do not have a violent criminal history⁴⁰, restraints seem to be placed without individual risk assessments⁴¹. Alongside additional claims that detainees were deprived of food/water during transfers, Amnesty International concluded that, in violation of international law, these transfers “amount to cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.”⁴²

Conclusion

The severity of detainee testimony regarding the environment at Alligator Alcatraz, coupled with the legal ambiguity for such a facility to exist, demonstrates a flawed system of immigration enforcement that is secretive, unprecedented, and concerning. Amnesty International ended its report with several recommendations for how the State of Florida should proceed, including stopping “the use of emergency powers” to execute immigration enforcement, and shutting the facility down in recognition that state-run immigration detention has led to arbitrary imprisonment and a neglect of due process⁴³. Enforcement agendas that are dehumanising, often racially targeted, and seemingly unsympathetic, have little warrant in a country meant to uphold the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Sources: 

1.  ‘‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Timeline: Everglades Detention Center from Beginning to Now’ (NBC 6 South Florida, 22 July 2025) <https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/alligator-alcatraz-timeline-everglades-detention-center-from-beginning-to-now/3663585/> accessed 5 January 2026

^2.   ‘BOP: Alcatraz’ <https://www.bop.gov/about/history/alcatraz.jsp> accessed 5 January 2026

^3.   Amnesty International, ‘Torture and enforced disappearances in the Sunshine State: Human Rights Violations at “Alligator Alcatraz” and Krome in Florida’ (Amnesty International Ltd, 4 December 2025) <https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/AMR51/0511/2025/en> accessed 5 January 2026

^4.  ‘U.S. Immigration: A Primer for State Policy Makers’ (NCSL, 27 June, 2018) < https://www.ncsl.org/immigration/us-immigration-a-primer-for-state-policy-makers> accessed 5 January 2026 

^5.  Office of the Governor, ‘Executive Order Number 23-03’, 3 (State of Florida, 6 January 2023) < https://www.flgov.com/eog/sites/default/files/executive-orders/2024/EO-23-03-1.pdf> accessed 6 January 2026 

^6.  Ibid. 

^7.  The Florida Legislature, ‘The 2025 Florida Statutes’ < https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0200-0299/0252/Sections/0252.36.html> accessed 6 January 2026 

^8.   Ibid. 

^9.  Joshua Ceballos, ‘DeSantis fast-tracks building immigrant detention center in Everglades’ (wlrn, 24 June, 2025) < https://www.wlrn.org/government-politics/2025-06-24/alligator-alcatraz-desantis-everglades-detention-center> accessed 6 January 2026

^10.    Amnesty International (n 3), 7 

^11.  ‘‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Timeline: Everglades Detention Center from Beginning to Now’ (n 1)

^12.  ‘New Lawsuit Challenges Florida’s Authority to Detain People at Notorious ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center’ (ACLU, 23 August 2025) <https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/new-lawsuit-challenges-floridas-authority-to-detain-people-at-notorious-alligator-alcatraz-detention-center> accessed 7 January 2026

^13.   ‘ICE’s 287(g) program’ (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) <https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g> accessed 7 January 2026 

^14.   ‘The 287(g) Program: An Overview’ (American Immigration Council) <https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/287g-program-immigration/> accessed 7 January 2026

^15.  Compl. ¶ 1, M.A. v. Guthrie (Collier County), No. 2:25-cv-00765 (8/22/2025)

^16.  Ibid. 

^17.  ‘Case: M.A. v. Guthrie (Collier County)’ (Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse) <https://clearinghouse.net/case/47054/?docket_page=2#docket> accessed 8 January 2026

^18.  Kaylyn Zipp, “Alligator Alcatraz’ Could Threaten Fragile Ecosystem’ (The Wildlife Society, 5 August 2025) <https://wildlife.org/alligator-alcatraz-could-threaten-fragile-ecosystem/> accessed 8 January 2026

^19.  Compl. ¶ 1, Friends of the Everglades, Inc. v. Noem, No. 1:25-cv-22896 (6/27/2025)

^20.  ‘Lawsuit challenges state’s authority to detain people at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center’ (NBC 6 South Florida, 23 August 2025) <https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/lawsuit-challenges-states-authority-to-detain-people-at-alligator-alcatraz-detention-center/3681915/> accessed 8 January 2026 

^21.  Compl. ¶ 1, Friends of the Everglades (n 19)

^22.  ‘Federal Judge allows Miccosukee Tribe to join environmental lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz’ (CBS News, 30 July 2025) <https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/judge-miccosukee-tribe-alligator-alcatraz-environmental-lawsuit/> accessed 8 January 2025

^23.  Kate Payne, ‘The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida wants to join a federal lawsuit against ‘Alligator Alcatraz” (Associated Press, 16 July 2025) <https://ictnews.org/news/the-miccosukee-tribe-of-florida-wants-to-join-a-federal-lawsuit-against-alligator-alcatraz/> accessed 8 January 2026 

^24.   Kaylyn Zipp (n 18)

^25.  Ibid. 

^26.   Juliette Arcodia and Marlene Lenthang, ‘Judge rules ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ can stay open for now, but no further detainees or construction is allowed’ (NBC News, 22 August 2025) <https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-rules-alligator-alcatraz-florida-no-new-detainees-rcna224550> accessed 8 January 2026

^27.  Ely Brown and Peter Charalambous, ‘Appeal Court allows Alligator Alcatraz to continue immigrant detention center operations’ (ABC News, 4 September 2025) <https://abcnews.go.com/US/appeals-court-allows-alligator-alcatraz-continue-immigrant-detention/story?id=125271773> accessed 8 January 2026

^28.   ‘DHS Debunks Alligator Alcatraz Hoaxes’ (Homeland Security, 14 August 2025) <https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/08/14/dhs-debunks-alligator-alcatraz-hoaxes> accessed 8 January 2026 

^29.  Bernd Debusmann Jr and Ana Faguy, ‘Trump visits ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, the next step in his immigration crackdown’ (BBC News, 1 July 2025) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2zzdmrd9qo> accessed 9 January 2026

^30.   Mike Schneider, ‘Detainees’ attorneys urge judge to visit ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to assess access to counsel’ (Associated Press, 22 December 2025) <https://www.wusf.org/courts-law/2025-12-22/attorneys-urge-judge-to-visit-alligator-alcatraz-to-assess-detainees-access-to-lawyers> accessed 9 January 2026

^31.   Ibid. 

^32.  Ana Ceballos et al., ‘Is your family member or client at Alligator Alcatraz? We obtained a list’ (Miami Herald, 14 July 2025) <https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article310541770.html> accessed 10 January 2026

^33.  Amnesty International (n 3), 33 

^34.  Amnesty International (n 3), 33-36

^35.   ‘Report decries ‘cruel’ conditions at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, DeSantis responds’ (Local News 10, 4 December 2025) <https://www.local10.com/news/local/2025/12/04/report-decries-cruel-conditions-at-alligator-alcatraz-desantis-responds/> accessed 10 January 2026

^36.  Meghan Bowman, ‘Florida Democrats call ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ merchandise sales ‘diabolical’’ (WUSF, 25 September 2025) <https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2025-09-25/florida-democrats-call-alligator-alcatraz-merchandise-sales-diabolical> accessed 29 January 2026

^37.  Ibid. 

^38.  Ibid. 

^39.  Amnesty International (n 3), 29

^40.  ‘Hundreds of detainees in Alligator Alcatraz have no criminal records, Herald/Times reports’ (WLRN, 14 July 2025) <https://www.wlrn.org/immigration/2025-07-14/hundreds-of-detainees-in-alligator-alcatraz-have-no-criminal-records-herald-times-reports> accessed 10 January 2026

^41.  Amnesty International (n 3), 29

^42.  Amnesty International (n 3), 30

^43.  Amnesty International (n 3), 57-58

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