A federal appeals court panel on Thursday put on hold a lower court judge’s order to wind down operations at an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The three-judge panel in Atlanta voted 2-1 to stay the preliminary injunction pending the outcome of an appeal, saying the stay was in the public interest.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami had issued the preliminary injunction last month, ordering that operations at the facility be wound down by the end of October, with detainees transferred to other facilities and equipment and fencing removed.
Thursday's stay means the district court's order to remove fencing and equipment and to transfer detainees will not go into effect immediately while the appeals court considers the arguments. The appeals panel provided no additional written opinion at the time of the stay beyond its statement that pausing the lower court’s order served the public interest.
The facility, located in Collier County, has drawn protests and legal scrutiny. Attorneys representing detainees and advocacy groups had welcomed the district judge's injunction last month, saying it would halt operations at the site. Court records and filings in the case outline the procedural path by which the district court issued the preliminary relief and the government sought appellate review.
The appeals court's decision was split, with one judge dissenting from the stay. The panel did not set a timetable for resolving the appeal at the time of Thursday's order. Legal experts say such stays typically remain in place while appellate courts review the merits of the lower court's injunction and any emergency motions filed by the parties.
The dispute over the Everglades facility comes amid broader national debate over immigration detention practices and facility conditions. Local residents, advocacy groups and lawyers have been active in public demonstrations and litigation related to the site in recent months.
For now, the district court’s directive to wind down operations by the end of October remains paused, and the fate of the facility will be decided as the appeals process moves forward. Parties in the case are expected to file further briefs and requests with the appeals court as they press their legal arguments.