A federal judge ordered a two-week halt to construction at the site while she considers whether it violates environmental laws.

Two separate lawsuits over “Alligator Alcatraz” could ensure detainees have proper access to their legal counsel or shut down operations at the controversial makeshift immigrant detention center in Florida’s swampy Everglades.

Just weeks after opening Alligator Alcatraz, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled plans for a second migrant detention center to

Federal judges in Miami to hear arguments over legal rights violations at Florida's Alligator Alcatraz detention center.

A federal judge in Miami will continue to hear arguments Monday over whether detainees at Florida’s temporary immigrant detention center dubbed Alligator Alcatraz have been denied their legal rights.

Already this year, Judge Kathleen Williams has blocked a new Florida law that criminalizes undocumented immigrants and held Attorney General James Uthmeier in contempt of court.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., listens during a roundtable at "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla. (AP)

Forget GEO Group Stadium, protesters started a movement 12-years ago to make sure another name caught on where Florida Atlantic would play: "Owlcatraz."