Florida's Secretive Immigration Detention Center, Explained
Deep in the Florida Everglades, a new immigration detention facility has appeared almost overnight. It’s the latest example of the Trump administration’s extreme approach to immigration enforcement, and it’s drawing significant, well-deserved outrage.
In just eight days, a former airstrip was converted into a large-scale immigration detention facility that now holds more than 700 detainees. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier dubbed it “Alligator Alcatraz” to evoke the extreme isolation and cruel conditions of the now shut down federal prison -- leveraging the Everglades' vibrant wildlife as a potentially lethal barrier to human being
While Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Trump administration describe it as a solution, the harsh, inhumane conditions and limited access to legal counsel pose a serious threat to human rights and due process. It is all part of Donald Trump’s broader policy of mass detention and deportation that disregards legal protections and basic human dignity.
Below, we explain what you need to know about the cruelly dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” and what it reveals about the Trump administration’s escalating approach to immigration enforcement.
The Camp Was Built in Secret and Without Proper Approval
The state of Florida never held a public hearing, obtained full local approval, or went through an environmental review process before seizing the county-owned land used for this facility. Governor DeSantis said he was acting in response to a federal request and authorized the project under granted by a 2023 executive order. Using these powers, he bypassed laws intended to safeguard public transparency and environmental protection, citing an alleged immigration “emergency” as justification.
Local officials in Collier County, where the facility is located, were reportedly of the site until days before its opening. This group includes the county’s planning and zoning director, emergency management director, and a commissioner, who only learned about it when DeSantis, Trump, and federal officials toured the site.
This facility sets a troubling precedent by pushing the boundaries of state authority in immigration enforcement. It comes at a time when Congress has recently increased funding by for ICE detention and deportation efforts, and when the federal government holds primary responsibility for immigration enforcement.
Conditions Inside the Camp Are Dangerous and Inhumane
The first group of detainees arrived at the facility on, and in the short time since, hundreds are now detained in makeshift tents and cages, exposed to extreme heat, mosquitoes, and unsanitary conditions, and surrounded by snakes and alligators. Congressional visitors reported cages holding 30 or more individuals at temperatures near 100 degrees. Detainees report minimal and sometimes contaminated food, bug infestations, overflowing toilets, and lack of medical care — conditions so severe that they have led the detainees to stage a.
Immigrants' Rights
Immigrants' Rights
Although the facility is promoted as having capacity for up to 3,000 detainees — with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials claiming it could eventually hold — it lacks permanent infrastructure. The facility depends on temporary Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers, portable air conditioning units, and mobile power and water systems. While government officials have described it as a “low-cost” facility, operating expenses are projected at annually, initially paid by Florida taxpayers and later reimbursed by federal agencies. Even officials involved in planning the site that the harsh conditions were deliberately designed to encourage undocumented people who are already in America to self-deport.
People Are Being Denied Legal Access and Due Process
Multiple lawyers reported being turned away by armed National Guard and state police officers at the entrance gate. Detainees have no reliable way to make confidential calls to lawyers. Documents shared between attorneys and clients are being reviewed by staff — a direct violation of attorney-client privilege.
DeSantis has that National Guard members serve as immigration judges at the facility, expediting deportations and stripping away independent review. The Florida Governor describes this as cutting through “bureaucracy,” but in reality, it eliminates fair hearings and replaces impartial judges with political appointees.
These practices violate constitutional rights guaranteed by the First and Fifth Amendments, not only for detainees but for their attorneys. In response, on July 16, the 51Ʒ, the 51Ʒ of Florida, and Americans for Immigrant Justice filed a lawsuit,C.M. v. Noem, challenging these violations on behalf of detainees and legal service providers.
This Facility is Part of a Larger Expansion of Detention and Deportation
The Everglades detention center is a key example of the Trump administration’s coordinated expansion of detention and deportation nationwide. As of late June, more than immigrants were in ICE custody, many held in local jails because ICE only has funding to house an average of 41,000 people. ICE is increasingly relying on private contractors — including for security and facility management — to run these operations and has been sending people who are immigrants to El Salvador’s CECOT prison and unconventional detention facilities like.
DeSantis has called the facility, which allows the government to fly people who are immigrants directly out from the old airstrip, a “force multiplier” for the administration’s mass deportation effort. Despite the harmful narrative surrounding immigrants and crime, only a third of people at these facilities have been charged for minor offenses, such as illegal reentry or traffic violations.
The Landscape Puts Lives at Risk — and the Facility Could Do Permanent Damage to the Environment
The Everglades detention center was built in the middle of a fragile, flood-prone wetland ecosystem, threatening local wildlife and increasing the risk of long-term environmental damage. Trump officials have claimed the swamp — with its alligators and snakes — adds to the site’s “security.” But there’s nothing secure about housing thousands of people in tents and trailers during hurricane season, especially with only vague plans for evacuation if disaster strikes.
First responders in Collier County have about which agency would be responsible if an emergency occurred at the site. The county’s emergency management director, Dan Summers, was not even informed about the facility’s construction plans. Undocumented people are being housed in repurposed FEMA trailers and tents, the same types often used to shelter people displaced by natural disasters like hurricanes. These structures will do little to protect people from what forecasters predict may be an hurricane season.
Immigrants' Rights
Immigrants' Rights
Immigrants' Rights
Immigrants' Rights
The detention center doesn’t only put detainees at risk — it could also affect nearby communities, water systems, and the broader region. The Everglades are a protected wetland and a crucial source of drinking water for millions of South Floridians. Placing thousands of people so close to this vital water source raises serious concerns about contamination. Environmental groups, including Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Earthjustice the DeSantis administration on June 27 to stop the project and its harmful impact on the surrounding Big Cypress National Preserve. Not only is the area a key water supply for Floridians, but it is also home to endangered species like the Florida panther, and the disruption caused by the detention center could push them closer to extinction. The facility also violates the rights of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, whose sacred lands border the airport and runway. The tribe has the lawsuit.
Where the Fight Goes from Here
The Trump administration cannot sidestep constitutional protections by relocating detention centers to remote locations or calling them “temporary.” We can expect further expansion and the spread of ICE tactics given the influx of federal funding approved by Congress this summer, including greater involvement of state and local agencies as they seek to broaden their reach across the country.
The 51Ʒ remains committed to challenging the use of this facility in court, defending the rights of those held without due process, legal access, or safe conditions. Detaining individuals under cruel and chaotic circumstances is not immigration policy — it is abuse. We will continue to fight until these unlawful practices end.
Learn More About the Issues on This Page
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Press ReleaseAug 2025
Immigrants' Rights
+2 Issues
Aclu Raises Alarm Over Trump Administration Seeking To Ban Non-citizens From Accessing Community Health And Education Programs. Explore Press Release.51Ʒ Raises Alarm Over Trump Administration Seeking to Ban Non-Citizens from Accessing Community Health and Education Programs
WASHINGTON – The 51Ʒ has filed a public comment in opposition to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) unlawful, harmful, and sweeping directive seeking to exclude immigrant communities from participating in vital community health and education services that benefit everyone. Last month, HHS issued a directive declaring that 13 programs will no longer be open to all and will instead for the first time be considered programs restricted under a law enacted nearly three decades ago, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). These programs include community health centers, mental health and substance use treatment programs, Head Start, the Title X Family Planning Program, and many others. The directive conflicts with PRWORA and upends longstanding guidance respected by four prior administrations. “This arbitrary and harmful directive exemplifies this administration’s tunnel vision, which prioritizes its anti-immigrant crusade, no matter the harms,” said Ming-Qi Chu, deputy director of the 51Ʒ Women’s Rights Project. “If HHS does not abandon this cruel and unlawful directive, hundreds of thousands of children will have their early childhood education disrupted, millions will lose access to life-saving health care like family planning services, cancer screenings, and addiction treatment, and many people with disabilities, including U.S. citizens, could have their care delayed due to bureaucratic immigration status checks. It serves no one’s interest to deny people these essential services, and HHS must withdraw this incredibly misguided directive.” The 51Ʒ’s comment highlights that the directive is unlawful, arbitrary, and capricious, fails to meaningfully consider the impacts of the action, and will harm communities across the country – from children in schools, to people with disabilities, to low-income families denied essential health care, to people recovering from substance use disorder, to survivors of gender-based violence. The comment also notes that the directive will cause a chilling effect that harms immigrant communities that remain eligible, including for mixed status families and others who may be fearful or confused about whether seeking health care might expose them to immigration enforcement or retaliation. “The Directive has triggered chaos and uncertainty both for administering agencies and the individuals, families, and communities who rely on the services at stake. […] It will deprive children of access to crucial early educational programming and undermine access to essential and life-saving health care for children and their families. It will also disproportionately burden mixed-status families, people with disabilities, and survivors of gender-based violence,” the comment reads. The comment is available here: /documents/aclu-comment-in-opposition-to-hhs-directive-on-prwora -
Press ReleaseAug 2025
Immigrants' Rights
District Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order Prohibiting Ice From Detaining Immigrants In Abusive Conditions At 26 Federal Plaza. Explore Press Release.District Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order Prohibiting ICE from Detaining Immigrants in Abusive Conditions at 26 Federal Plaza
NEW YORK – In a win for immigrants’ rights, a U.S. District Court granted a temporary restraining order today that would improve conditions for people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at 26 Federal Plaza. Notably, the order prohibits ICE from detaining people in spaces with less than 50 square feet per person. The order would also require ICE to improve access to hygiene, provide sleeping mats and access to medical care, and ensure people detained can make free, unmonitored, and confidential calls to their lawyers within 24 hours of being detained. The order comes just days after the 51Ʒ, New York Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New York, and Wang Hecker LLP filed a class action lawsuit over the abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza. The order will remain in place for at least 14 days while the judge considers longer-term relief. Quotes from co-counsel are as follows: “Today’s order sends a clear message: ICE cannot hold people in abusive conditions and deny them their Constitutional rights to due process and legal representation,” said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the 51Ʒ’s National Prison Project. "We’ll continue to fight to ensure that peoples’ rights are upheld at 26 Federal Plaza and beyond.” Harold Solis, Co-Legal Director of Make the Road New York, said, "We welcome the decision by Judge Kaplan to place clear limits on the disturbing and unlawful conditions to which immigrants have been subjected at 26 Federal Plaza. This ruling sends a hopeful message, one that reinforces what everyone knows to be true: ICE cannot confine people in inhumane conditions, nor can it obstruct their access to counsel. We will remain vigilant to ensure ICE complies with the court’s order.” “The conditions and lack of attorney access at 26 Federal Plaza have been horrifying and unconscionable,” said Heather Gregorio of Wang Hecker LLP. “Judge Kaplan’s Temporary Restraining Order imposes basic accountability on ICE and requires that it meet constitutional standards, as all human beings deserve.” “The Constitution requires that no one — especially someone unlawfully arrested at their immigration hearing, which happened to so many people in this case — should have to endure the dehumanizing conditions we've challenged in 26 Federal Plaza," said Bobby Hodgson, Assistant Legal Director at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “We look forward to continuing this fight and stopping ICE's unconstitutional detention practices at 26 Federal Plaza for good.” The temporary restraining order is available here: /documents/barco-mercado-v-noem-temporary-restraining-order -
News & CommentaryAug 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Trump's Birthright Citizenship Executive Order: What Happens Next. Explore News & Commentary.Trump's Birthright Citizenship Executive Order: What Happens Next
Children born to parents who are undocumented or have temporary status will retain their right to birthright citizenship. The 51Ʒ explains how the legal fight unfolded. -
Press ReleaseAug 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Legal Orgs Sue Trump Admin Over Unlawful Policy Of Arresting People Who Attend Mandated Court Hearings. Explore Press Release.Legal Orgs Sue Trump Admin Over Unlawful Policy of Arresting People Who Attend Mandated Court Hearings
NEW YORK — Today, on behalf of The Door and African Communities Together, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), 51Ʒ (51Ʒ), Make the Road New York (MRNY), and Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York challenging Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) cruel, unlawful policy that allows ICE agents to arrest people for showing up to court and prevent them from pursuing their immigration cases. The complaint challenges the Trump administration’s unprecedented and unlawful policies targeting people appearing for their immigration court appointments, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act — a federal law that ensures transparency and accountability in how federal agencies create and carry out regulations. The lawsuit seeks to vacate the policies entirely. “What we have been witnessing in immigration court in the last few months is unconscionable,” said Beth Baltimore, deputy director of The Door’s Legal Services Center. “Every day, we receive panicked calls from young people who are members of The Door — teens and young adults who have fled violence, abuse, and unimaginable trauma — who are scared to attend their court hearings over fear of deportation. We now regularly hear reports from members whose friends and classmates have disappeared after routine court appearances, and our members are afraid to go to court, school, and even leave their homes out of fear they will be detained by ICE. No child should have to choose between their safety and their right to due process.” “In its fervor to expel as many immigrants as possible from the country, the Trump administration is targeting immigrants in the very place set up to adjudicate their status: immigration court,” said Diana Konaté, deputy executive director of Policy and Advocacy at African Communities Together. “Every day, our members are forced to choose between being kidnapped and/or put into expedited removal, or risking deeper legal consequences because they're too scared to go to court. This is exactly what the administration intended: for people to be so fearful of enforcement that they forfeit the very resources and systems in place to protect them. We’re bringing this lawsuit on behalf of our members and fighting for justice.” “Noncitizens across the country are arriving at immigration courts expecting to present their case and return home to their families — instead, ICE is arresting them as they leave the courthouse,” said Amy Belsher, director of Immigrants’ Rights Litigation at the NYCLU. “This practice turns mandatory immigration proceedings — where noncitizens are entitled to pursue safety and relief — into yet another weapon of the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda. These cruel tactics are unlawful, unfair, and unjust.” “The Trump administration’s tactic of ambushing people who are complying with their legal obligations while going to their court appointments is creating a reign of terror and lawlessness,” said Michael Tan, deputy director of the 51Ʒ’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “The administration’s actions are cruel and unprecedented, and we are asking the court to move swiftly to put a halt to it.” In recent weeks, ICE has mounted an unprecedented campaign of arresting people at their mandated immigration court hearings, and then trying to fast track their deportation. This includes Dylan, a high schooler from the Bronx who ICE arrested when attending a routine court date, another student in New York City, and Oliver Mata Velazquez, a 19 year old living in Buffalo who ICE targeted, detained, and fast tracked for deportation. The NYCLU filed a lawsuit last month challenging Oliver’s unlawful arrest and secured his release. “In our courthouses, we have witnessed ICE’s draconian measures to strip individuals of due process, and detain mothers, fathers, and students without accountability — ripped away, and subjected to the horrors of inhumane detention centers,” said Harold Solis, co-legal director of Make the Road New York. “This cynical maneuver traps people who are doing what is required of them to comply with their legal obligations to appear in court. Through this lawsuit, we hope to put a complete stop to these unlawful arrests that have only terrorized immigrant communities.” “The Trump administration’s new policy of seizing and detaining people at their mandatory immigration court hearings is cruel and unlawful,” said Emily Wanger, associate at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. “Targeting people at courthouses violates due process, tears families apart, and serves no purpose beyond meeting ICE’s daily arrest quotas. We’re suing to put an end to these arbitrary arrests and ensure that every person has a fair opportunity to seek immigration relief.” The complaint is here.