Florida closes 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention center, ending lawsuit

The Center for Biological Diversity withdrew its federal Clean Air Act lawsuit after Florida’s state‑run “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention center in the Everglades was fully shut down and dismantled. The center, which operated for 11 months and housed more than 22,000 detainees, had been accused of emitting hundreds of tons of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides from diesel‑powered lighting towers and generators. Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed the facility was emptied and is being torn down, prompting the environmental group to declare its legal goal achieved.

Separately, a Florida Senate candidate highlighted the site’s closure as an opportunity for ecological restoration, proposing a “William J. Mitsch Memorial Wetlaculture Experiment” that would replace concrete infrastructure with sawgrass wetlands to filter pollutants and eventually support sustainable agriculture. The proposal builds on ongoing wetland research in Naples and aims to restore water flow and improve Everglades health.