On July 11, Friends of the Everglades and Center for Biological Diversity warned government agencies in a legal filing today that they’re breaking the law by failing to protect the Big Cypress National Preserve from the increasingly destructive effects of the mass detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The notice of intent to sue details federal and state failures to protect wetlands, endangered wildlife and ecological resources. These legal violations are in addition to others the groups documented in their June 27 lawsuit. “This mass detention center was ramrodded into the middle of our country’s oldest national preserve with no public input, no environmental analysis — and no regard for the billions of dollars invested in Everglades restoration,” said Eve [...]

 In the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve — where Florida panthers roam and the stars once shone undisturbed — a mass detention center is being built at breakneck speed, to the detriment of the Everglades.We’re fighting hard to stop it.Friends of the Everglades and our partners at the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in federal court on June 27, seeking an injunction to stop construction of the ominously branded “Alligator Alcatraz” so that environmental impacts can be examined as the law requires. Photos of the site show harm is already occurring to this critical ecosystem, facts we documented in our July 3 response to the defendants, which include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Florida [...]

On June 27, 2025, Friends of the Everglades and Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Miami-Dade County regarding a reckless plan for a massive detention center in the heart of the Everglades, known as "Alligator Alcatraz."  Friends of the Everglades is represented by Earthjustice and attorneys Scott Hiaasen and Paul Schwiep. As the lawsuit points out, the plan has gone through no environmental review as required under federal law, and the public has had no opportunity to comment. Despite that, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has plowed ahead with developing the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport — a site that [...]

On June 23, Friends of the Everglades sent the following letter to Gov. DeSantis asking him to kill the "Alligator Alcatraz" proposal — a damaging idea, floated by the Attorney General of Florida, to build a detention facility in the middle of the Everglades. More than 50 years ago, Floridians rallied to stop the Everglades Jetport, protecting a vital stretch of wilderness from destructive development. Today, "Alligator Alcatraz" threatens that same land. Friends of the Everglades is deeply concerned that building a detention center — along with the necessary infrastructure, and the likelihood of future development — poses an unacceptable and unnecessary risk to on-site wetlands, nearby Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park. Negative environmental impacts would [...]