
Federal judge orders closure of Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration jail
Richard Luscombe in Miami
Thu, August 21, 2025 at 9:06 PM CDT
3 min read
An aerial view shows RVs in ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ at Dade-Collier Training and Transition airport in Florida in July.Photograph: Marco Bello/Reuters
A federal judge in Miami late on Thursday ordered the closure of the Trump administration’s notorious “
Alligator Alcatraz”
immigration jail within 60 days, and ruled that no more detainees were to be brought to the facility while it was being wound down.
The shock ruling by district court judge Kathleen Williams builds on a temporary restraining order she
issued two weeks ago halting further construction work at the remote tented camp, which has attracted waves of criticism for harsh conditions, abuse of detainees and
denial of due process as they await deportation.
In her 82-page order, published in the US district court’s southern district of Florida on Friday, Williams determined the facility was causing severe and irreparable damage to the fragile Florida Everglades.