Alligator Alcatraz undergoing permanent closure

Florida Begins Dismantling 'Alligator Alcatraz'

Florida officials have begun dismantling the migrant detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz," marking the likely end of a controversial state-run detention operation in the Everglades that became a focal point of the state's immigration enforcement efforts.

Contractors hired to operate the facility were instructed to begin "full demobilization" of the site, according to reports from CBS News Miami and other outlets.

Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie notified vendors that the state expected rapid progress in removing infrastructure from the facility, which was built at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Everglades.

The move comes less than a week after federal and state officials transferred the remaining detainees to other facilities, citing safety concerns as the Atlantic hurricane season begins. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that all detainees had been relocated from the site.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Monday that the facility had fulfilled its purpose. "I think Alligator Alcatraz actually stayed open longer than it was intentionally planned when it was first conceptualized," Uthmeier told reporters.

Organizations like the Friends of the Everglades and the Miccosukee Tribe filed major lawsuits...one of our city commissioners should be very happy.

Read more...

Alligator Alcatraz Update

Alligator Alcatraz

Recent Developments (January 2026)

Court Victory for Critics: On January 22, 2026, a judge ordered the state to turn over public records related to the facility within 21 days following a lawsuit by the Friends of the Everglades.

Continued Legal Battles: A major appellate hearing to decide if the facility must be shut down for environmental reviews is scheduled for April 2026.

Christopher McVoy, Ph. D., is an Everglades science expert, member of the board of Friends of the Everglades and part of this lawsuit. He is an elected commissioner in the City of Lake Worth Beach.

Alligator Alcatraz

I was wondering what's going on with Alligator Alcatraz as there has been no recent news--
Here is a video from October--that discounts all the horror stories being reported.

Commissioner McVoy and the environmental groups have held this facility hostage with lawsuits.

There are at least three major lawsuits challenging Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention facility, filed by immigrant advocates and environmental groups, focusing on issues like state authority, detainee rights (ACLU-led suit), and environmental law violations (Friends of the Everglades/Earthjustice suit), with additional legal challenges by Florida Democrats for access to the site.

Lake Worth Beach Commissioner misrepresents the biggest threats to the Everglades!

Places Illegal Migrants as more important than Jobs or futures or lives of Legal Lake Worth voters

A Comprehensive Analysis with Contextualization of the “Alligator Alcatraz” Controversy

            Click the link to read the report and get the facts

The real truth from Dan Volker

1. Hydrological Alterations: The Engine of Everglades Decline
2. Nutrient Pollution, Sulfur, and Chemical Contamination
3. Industrial Mining Projects: The “Rock Mine” and Its Precedent
4. Invasive Non-Native Species: A Spreading Biological Crisis
5. Climate Change: Sea Level Rise, Fire, and Everglades Collapse

______________________________________________________

Chris, if you acknowledge reading this, you know you can't argue the science. I have references for all claims - and you know my claims are true. This is not inflammatory ( as it would be enjoyable for me to make it) ... it is plain scientific truth, and it shows your behavior is inconsistent with your claims.

You are not being an "Environmental Warrior".. You are fighting on behalf of illegal migrants AGAINST your duty to the Legal Residents of Lake Worth that you were sworn in to protect. Your claims to the media and the court are fraudulent and despicable in this context.

While in the past I always believed you cared about Lake Worth more than most in city government, this attack on the National Security of America against crime and the theft of so many Legal American futures makes you an Enemy of the majority of legal residents of Lake Worth.

Guest Blogger:
Dan Volker, Lake Worth Beach

Alligator Alacatraz

Trump to visit 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration detention facility

President Donald Trump will visit a new immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades on Tuesday, showcasing his border crackdown in the face of humanitarian and environmental concerns.

The trip was confirmed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday.

“When the president comes tomorrow, he’s going to be able to see,” DeSantis told reporters. He added that “I think by tomorrow, it’ll be ready for business.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it will be “informally known as Alligator Alcatraz," a moniker that has alarmed immigrant activists but appeals to the president's aggressive approach to deportations.

“There's only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one way flight," she said. "It is isolated and it is surrounded by dangerous wildlife (alligators and pythons) and unforgiving terrain.”

Trump will be joined by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for governor.

Trump to visit Alligator Alcatraz today

Protest at "Alligator Alacatraz" site

Indians and Activists don't want "Alligator Alacatraz

Gov. DeSantis says "Alligator Alcatraz" will have 'zero impact' on Everglades

The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings at the Miami Dade County-owned airfield in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles west of downtown Miami.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered along Florida’s Tamiami Trail on Saturday to protest the construction of a new immigrant detention center in the Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by critics.

The facility, proposed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, is part of President Donald Trump’s bold initiative to expand deportations of criminal illegal aliens and secure the nation’s borders.

While liberal activists and Native American leaders decry the project as an environmental and humanitarian crisis, supporters argue it is a necessary step to enforce immigration laws and protect American communities.

The protest, organized by Native American groups and environmental activists, claimed the detention center would encroach on sacred tribal lands and harm the fragile Everglades ecosystem. Ecologist Christopher McVoy, one of the demonstrators, told the Associated Press, “People I know are in tears, and I wasn’t far from it.”

Meanwhile, left-wing organizations like the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Everglades filed a lawsuit to halt construction, citing potential environmental damage. Their executive director warned, “The Everglades is a vast, interconnected system of waterways and wetlands, and what happens in one area can have damaging impacts downstream.”

The liberal media has framed the protests as a moral outcry, ignoring the fact that the facility is designed to house criminal aliens.

Read about it...

Alligator Alcatraz

DHS Approves ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ for Illegal Aliens in Florida

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved an immigrant detention center in Florida, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” to be built, according to a report from the New York Times.

As Breitbart News reported, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier initially pitched the idea to turn the “virtually abandoned Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility” into a detention center to house illegal aliens, which would be guarded by alligators and pythons:

“I think this is the best one. I call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ This 30 square mile area is completely surrounded by the Everglades — presents an efficient, low cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility because you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter,” he said. If detainees were to escape, “there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons.”

Per the New York Times, the facility would be “composed of large tents, and other planned facilities will cost the state around $450 million a year to run.”

“These new facilities will in large part be funded by FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program, which the Biden administration used as a piggy bank to spend hundreds of millions of American taxpayer dollars to house illegal aliens, including at the Roosevelt Hotel that served as a Tren de Aragua base of operations and was used to shelter Laken Riley’s killer,” said Kristi Noem.

Read about Alligator Alcatraz

Alligator Alcatraz

'Alligator Alcatraz' proposed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to house Illegals

WPTV has reported this year on the overcrowded conditions at the Krome North Processing Center in Miami-Dade County, described by a nonprofit as "hellish," as federal authorities continue the deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Now, Florida's attorney general believes he has an idea that could help the state carry out President Donald Trump's "mass deportation agenda."

In a Thursday afternoon post on X, Attorney General James Uthmeier called for the construction of a detention facility in the Everglades that he labeled "Alligator Alcatraz."

Uthmeier said the "virtually abandoned" Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, located in the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area, is 39 square miles with a 10,500-foot runway.

Uthmeier said Gov. Ron DeSantis tasked state leaders to identify places for new temporary detention facilities.

Read more...

"Thriving Everglades, Thriving Economy: Nature’s Value in the Everglades"

Everglades Study has attention of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the President

The numbers don’t lie--The economic study reveals that the Everglades supplies drinking water to millions of residents and drives Florida’s major economic sectors and generate $31.5 billion per year through various economic benefits like property values, travel industry, recreational activities, clean water services, and storm protection.

• Real estate values depend on clean water and natural beauty.
• Tourism thrives when visitors can experience pristine wilderness.
• Outdoor recreation generates billions in economic activity.
• The Everglades also provides critical protection against extreme weather events that could cost taxpayers far more than restoration efforts.

The Everglades Foundation released a bombshell report that values America’s Everglades at a staggering $1 trillion over 50 years. That’s not some environmental activist’s wishful thinking. I believe that commissioner McVoy would agree.

Burgum delivered a keynote speech at the America’s Everglades Summit held at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on June 10.

The summit brought together more than 300 people, including lawmakers, Trump Administration officials, scientists, Tribal leaders, nonprofit partners, and business executives.

Read more about it...

“As a research scientist, I have supported Everglades restoration for 30 years through field research, book authorship, and science advocacy. I am thrilled to see renewed recognition of the significant economic benefits of restoring one of America’s ecological treasures - a flowing Everglades. I sincerely hope that increased federal and state support will soon bring the right quantities and timing of clean, fresh water flowing unimpeded all the way through a restored Everglades into a restored Florida Bay.”

Dr. Christopher McVoy, Everglades expert and Lake Worth City Commissioner

Ron DeSantis visits the Everglades

POINT OF VIEW
The Palm Beach Post
May 26, 2018

Restore wetlands, natural shorelines to reduce threat

Thank you for your recent editorial requesting funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to update the South Florida Water Management District’s aged flood-control system. (“Aging flood-control systems can’t protect South Florida from sea-level rise,” May 7)

I agree with your premise, but I think it is important for people living here in South Florida to understand that there are no engineering solutions that will protect us completely from sea-level rise.

We need instead to restore the Everglades, and protect and restore wetlands as well as natural shorelines. We can also make sure our sewer systems have protection so that increasing water tables during storms will not force flooding up into our houses. Septic tanks may also be impacted by rising water tables.

Sign up for The Palm Beach Post weekly Opinion newsletter: Text Opinion to 444999

We must accept that the drainage system that we have had in place for the past several decades may ultimately fail because it is based on the notion that sea level is downhill from the canal system, meaning all water pumped into canals will flow out to sea over time. This, in combination with storm surge, could put canal levels lower than the ocean. With incoming storm surge, the ocean could travel inland.

Engineering adjustments cannot change this fact. You cannot out-pump the ocean.

Because South Florida has an extremely porous land surface, berms and dikes such as work in the Netherlands will not work here. The ocean will push up under the dikes or around them. The expense of trying to build such a system would be a waste of money.

We can also not build sea walls to stop storm surge. The ocean will push up underneath these structures. They also provide a false sense of security. Natural shorelines with native plants such as mangroves that hold the soil provide a much better solution. Unfortunately, Florida continues to permit destruction of natural shorelines.

Florida also continues to permit building on the seaward side of the Coastal Construction Line (CCL). This means buildings are being built today that could be in the ocean during storm surge and high tide. This increases homeowner’s insurance policies and the cost of flood insurance.

The solution is to restore the Everglades in Central and South Florida so that fresh stormwater can be pumped to the center of the state, not into the ocean. Extensive treatment areas would be required to clean this water so it could flow south without damaging the sensitive Everglades National Park with too-high nutrient levels.

The influx of fresh water would raise the land levels in the center of the state as it hydrates the muck soils. Once clean this water would then flow downhill to Florida Bay as it did historically. This would raise the water table of fresh water that would act as a barrier to sea level rise. If canals did not exit to the ocean they could not be a conduit for sea water to flow inland. This is a new way of thinking that will require a new set of rules.

The second thing we need to do is stop building on open space and wetlands west of the coastal ridge. There are plenty of areas for infill, but we must protect the remaining ag and preserve areas.

These actions can protect us from storm surge and flooding when our existing canal system begins to fail.

DREW MARTIN, LAKE WORTH

Editor’s note: Drew Martin is conservation chair of the Loxahatcheee Group of the Sierra Club.

West Palm Beach Commissioner Shanon Materio removed from MPO

West Palm Beach City Commissioner Shanon Materio Violates City Resolution & Puts Local Water Supply at Risk Due to State Road 7 Extension; Conservation Leaders Unite Against Materio’s Support of Project

BriefingWire.com, 1/30/2018 - West Palm Beach, Fl -- Environmental and conservation leaders from the West Palm Beach community were stunned to hear of City Commissioner Shanon Materio’s vote in support of a controversial road development that would extend State Road 7, threatening the water quality for West Palm Beach, Palm Beach and South Palm Beach residents.

Materio was the only sitting member of the West Palm Beach City Commission to cast a vote in support of the project. The extension and expansion of State Road 7 is expected to cost nearly $80 million. Materio’s vote in support of the taxpayer-funded project would increase traffic along an environmentally sensitive area and could lead to more road congestion and growth.

The extension of the road would impact more than 219 acres of conservation land that is considered part of the Florida Everglades and serves as the primary source of drinking water for more than 130,000 residents. Additionally, the land serves as a habitat for wildlife, such as bald eagles, roseate spoonbills, alligators and other species.

Materio, acting as a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), voted yes in support of the road extension in direct opposition to a West Palm Beach resolution opposing the road. Following her vote in support of State Road 7, Materio was removed from the MPO for opposing West Palm Beach.

The City of West Palm Beach has recently received a favorable ruling in the fight to oppose the expansion of State Road 7. In a statement on January 18, 2018, the City stated, “The City of West Palm Beach has achieved a favorable legal outcome in its effort to protect the environmental quality of Grassy Waters Preserve, a 23-square mile remnant of the Everglades.”

Tim Mochin
tim.mochin@gmail.com

Trump to spend more money on the Everglades

Interior secretary says Trump committed to Everglades restoration

Trump has proposed spending $82 million on rehabilitating the dike in 2018, up from about $68 million approved by Congress in 2017

Read more about the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee Dike repair

Drew Martin - Op Ed in the Palm Beach Post

POINT OF VIEW
Palm Beach Post
July 13, 2017
By:  Drew Martin

Flooding problems are the result of too much development

In The Palm Beach Post story, “Water can flow into endangered sparrow territory” (June 29), discussing the seaside sparrow versus flooding north of the Tamiami Trail, it was suggested that only two solutions existed for reducing flooding: either the protection of the deer in the conservation area or protecting the endangered cape sable seaside sparrow, pitting them against each other resulting in flooding of the conservation area.

The story did not present the underlying causes leading to this flooding. It is the result of development policies impacting excess water, leaving us with only bad choices. This is the result of our constant filling in of wetlands, and the dredging of creeks and rivers, tuning them into free flowing canals, among the other things.

Recent attempts to change the zoning restrictions to open up the Agricultural Reserve to more homes — by removing existing preserves and permitting preserves north of the Ag Reserve to be used as preserve land rather than the 60 percent preserve requirement in the Ag Reserve that now stands — will change flooding patterns. These changes alter to a great extent how water moves naturally across the land.

Roads have also blocked important fresh water flows. One of these roads is Tamiami Trail, built almost 100 years ago when people did not understand the importance of letting fresh water flow into the Everglades, Biscayne and Florida Bay. We have drained the Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee. After the deadly 1928 hurricane, the lake had a permanent berm built around it. We are taking away the open lands that provide the space to hold the floodwaters.

If the GL Homes proposal were approved, it would move all the preserves out of the Ag Reserve by using preserved land in other tiers of the county to meet preserve requirements. This would contribute to the problem. The Ag Reserve would no longer provide a buffer to the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge.

It would no longer provide a place to hold floodwaters or to recharge the aquifer. It would no longer be the winter vegetable provider for the eastern United States. It would become another crowded urban area with all the urban difficulties. Not the refuge that many who purchased there sought. And these floodwaters from the Ag Reserve will then contribute to the dilemma of flooding the conservation area north of the Tamiami Trail by adding even more floodwaters.

DREW MARTIN, LAKE WORTH

Editor’s note: Drew Martin is conservation chair for the
Loxahatchee Group of the Sierra Club.

Pythons in our Everglades National Park

An invasive species in the Everglades since the late 1980's but not recognized as a reproducing population until year 2000.

4,000 pounds of dead snakes were captured and killed in the recent python hunt. Can you even imagine that they can devour an alligator! Probably some exotic snake collectors released them into our Everglades.

"Never doubt the importance of this program: Pythons are devouring virtually everything that moves in the Everglades, including native Florida alligators. This is no exaggeration. Marsh rabbits, raccoons, opossums, bobcats, deer, great blue herons, wood storks all have disappeared -- really and truly disappeared, leaving behind an eerie and desolate ecosystem."

Read about the python hunt...

Gov Rick Scott OK's Everglades Reservoir

Another big step in the right (south) direction. Governor Rick Scott signs into law Senate President Joe Negron's top legislative priority – the EAA Reservoir. Finally, after 17 years of waiting, we will be reconnecting Lake O to the Everglades. Now, the onus is on the SFWMD to get this moving, and pronto. [Everglades Trust]

Read about it...

Accepting Climate Change

Read Drew Martin's OP Ed piece in the Sun Sentinel on climate change.

Drew says, "It is not too late to protect these open spaces, particularly the Ag Reserve in Palm Beach County and lands in the Western Part of Broward, Miami Dade, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

Last Minute Re-Write of SB 10 - Everglades Water Resources

Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, on Tuesday filed an amendment to Senate Bill 10, Water Resources, that he and Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart say "furthers the goal of reducing and eventually eliminating harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee."

“I promised my constituents that we would dramatically expand southern storage by leveraging existing water infrastructure, and utilizing a combination of state, local, and private land, in a manner that respects the interests of the agricultural community and private land owners,” said Negron. “This legislation will ensure we achieve that goal and provide measurable results in a reasonable amount of time.”

Read more... at Sunshine State News.

When asking Drew Martin, he said, "I think that we must purchase land south of the lake and move water south or we will continue to destroy our estuaries.  This water always flowed south before the lake was altered and the land south of the lake was drained."

Read about it... at The Miami Herald.

Crist and Mast send letter to President Trump

The Letter

FL SB 10 - Water Resources in Everglades

SB 10: Water Resources

GENERAL BILL by Bradley

Water Resources; Providing an exception to the requirement that bonds issued for acquisition and improvement of land, water areas, and related property interests and resources be deposited into the Florida Forever Trust Fund and distributed in a specified manner; requiring the South Florida Water Management District to seek proposals from willing sellers of property within the Everglades Agricultural Area for land that is suitable for the reservoir project; increasing the minimum annual funding for certain Everglades projects under specified circumstances, etc.

APPROPRIATION: Indeterminate Effective Date: Except as otherwise expressly provided in this act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law
Last Action: 2/8/2017 Senate - Now in Appropriations Subcommittee on the Environment and Natural Resources Location: In committee/council (AEN)

Bill Text

When I asked Drew Martin, this was his reply:
"I think that we must purchase land south of the lake and move water south or we will continue to destroy our estuaries. This water always flowed south before the lake was altered and the land south of the lake was drained. Property values along the estuaries and businesses along the coast have suffered greatly. This does not prevent agriculture south of the lake or destroy the communities south of the lake. We can have both storage and agriculture. Without it we are putting greater pressure on the berm around the lake and putting communities at greater risk along the rim of Lake Okeechobee."