An immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades can remain open and the government can resume sending detainees there, after a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday against a lower court’s decision effectively shutting down the facility.
The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta granted the state and federal governments’ petition to pause the ruling by a federal judge in Miami last month. Under that ruling, no additional detainees could be sent to the center known as Alligator Alcatraz, and much of it had to be dismantled within 60 days.
The ruling was a victory for Florida, which pushed the boundaries of traditional immigration enforcement when it opened the facility in July. It became the first state to run an immigrant detention center — normally a federal role. Other states have announced plans to house federal immigration detainees in state-owned facilities.
The ruling was also significant for the Department of Homeland Security, which had argued in court that it was not running the Everglades detention center.
In granting the stay, the appeals court found that the lower court had misinterpreted a federal law requiring a review of potential environmental harms before building a major project. It found that because the Everglades detention center had so far been entirely funded by Florida, and because the state operated the center, the National Environmental Policy Act would not apply.
“Alligator Alcatraz is, in fact, like we’ve always said, open for business,” Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said in a video posted to X shortly after the appellate ruling. “The mission continues, and we’re going to continue leading the way when it comes to immigration enforcement.”
Mr. DeSantis, whose administration has taken an aggressive approach to immigration enforcement, recently announced plans to open a second detention center at an empty state prison west of Jacksonville. This week, he also floated the idea of opening a third such center, in the Florida Panhandle.
Judge Kathleen M. Williams of the Federal District Court in Miami ruled on Aug. 21 in favor of environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe, which had sought to halt construction on the center and its operations because of the lack of environmental review. Since then, the number of immigrant detainees at the facility has dwindled.
Between 120 and 125 detainees remain, a lawyer for the federal government said on Thursday at a hearing in federal court in Fort Myers. The hearing was on a different case regarding the Everglades detention center.
During that hearing, Nicholas J.P. Meros, an attorney for the state, told Judge Sheri Polster Chappell that Florida was not bringing any additional detainees to the Everglades detention center, but intended to keep it running, and to bring in more detainees, if Judge Williams’s ruling were reversed.
Jennifer Reed contributed reporting from Fort Myers, Fla.
Patricia Mazzei is the lead reporter for The Times in Miami, covering Florida and Puerto Rico.
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