For 358 days, “Alligator Alcatraz” inflicted grave harm on the Everglades at a staggering cost to taxpayers.
The state and feds originally planned to operate the ICE detention center much longer — for 2-3 years, according to public records we obtained — but they retreated after Friends of the Everglades and our allies fought back.
Our pressure worked, both inside the courtroom and outside of it. Here’s why.
First, we took swift legal action, filing suit against the state of Florida and federal agencies on June 27, 2025 — before “Alligator Alcatraz” even opened. Scrambling to respond, the defendants tried to dodge their responsibility for complying with the National Environmental Act by claiming they hadn’t applied for or received federal funding.
That message didn’t land well in Tallahassee, where lawmakers grew increasingly frustrated as millions of dollars from Florida’s disaster fund were dumped into “Alligator Alcatraz” with no legislative oversight.
Then, in October 2025, we filed a second public-records lawsuit against the state. It successfully revealed massive costs totaling more than $1.2 million per day to operate the detention center in the middle of Big Cypress — with more than $90 million tagged for the porta potty contractor alone.
That led to more discontent in Tallahassee. The Florida Legislature was so incensed it passed a bill to limit the governor’s emergency spending powers in March.
“Alligator Alcatraz” started out as a political stunt, and it turned into a political liability.
Not only did we reveal the waste of taxpayer dollars, our team did what the government failed to: analyzed and documented environmental harm posed by “Alligator Alcatraz,” which you can read all about here.
None of this would have been possible without our allies in the Everglades, who stood vigil on the front lines, and our partners in court — the Miccosukee Tribe, the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and our trusted counsel at Coffey Burlington.
Nor would it have been possible without YOU. If you are one of the thousands of people who donated to support our fight against “Alligator Alcatraz,” I want to personally thank you. You allow us to continue to fight for this hallowed ground that inspired Marjory Stoneman Douglas to found Friends of the Everglades in 1969.
Even now that immigrants at “Alligator Alcatraz” have officially been removed from the site, we are keeping the pressure on to remediate the environmental harm and ensure this never happens again. You can read below about our 5-point plan to guide the cleanup and ensure this never happens again in the Everglades.
It has been an honor to do this work for the greater good.
For the Everglades,
Eve Samples
