The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision that Florida’s controversial immigration detention center, known as Alligator Alcatraz, can continue operations without a federal environmental impact review, finding the state-run facility operates independently of federal control.

Court Sides With State Control

The appeals court majority determined that Florida officials constructed, funded, and controlled the detention facility entirely at state expense, making it exempt from the National Environmental Policy Act. This federal law typically requires agencies to assess environmental impacts before major actions. The ruling overturned U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ preliminary injunction from last year that would have gradually shut down operations. Williams had concluded that a federal reimbursement plan effectively existed, but the appeals court found Florida had received no federal funding when her order was issued.

Judge Nancy Abudu dissented sharply, arguing that immigration remains exclusively within federal jurisdiction regardless of who built the facility. She emphasized the detention center would not and could not have been constructed without the federal defendants’ request, making federal control apparent. The facility sits at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport site, surrounded by protected wetlands within the fragile Everglades ecosystem.

Environmental Groups Vow To Continue Fight

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity announced they will pursue the case as it returns to Judge Williams for further litigation. Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, stated the facility was hastily erected in one of the country’s most fragile ecosystems without basic environmental review at immense human and ecological cost. The environmental organizations maintain their challenge despite the appeals court’s setback.

Allegations Of Abuse Surface

Separate from the environmental lawsuit, serious concerns emerged about conditions inside the facility. Earlier this month, lawyer Katherine Blankenship filed a court declaration alleging guards severely beat and pepper-sprayed detainees, causing injuries to heads, shoulders, and wrists. One detained individual reportedly suffered a broken wrist during an incident where officers beat several people. The appeals court paused Williams’ shutdown order just days after it was issued in August, pending a hearing held earlier this month.

Federal Versus State Authority

The legal dispute highlights ongoing tensions between federal and state control over immigration enforcement facilities. The majority opinion emphasized that Florida officials entirely built the facility on state-controlled land without federal reimbursement. However, the dissent countered that immigration detention inherently involves federal authority that cannot be relinquished simply because state officials constructed the building. The case returns to district court for continued proceedings on the environmental claims.