Donald Trump, in his second term, has won in court more often than that, even when it comes to numerous actions that would appear blatantly unconstitutional.
However, on Thursday, Trump came out on the losing end of a court ruling, this time connected to immigration and the “Alligator Alcatraz” facility in Florida’s Everglades.
According to CNN, the camp in Florida can “no longer take additional detainees and remove additional infrastructure added to the site.” The lawsuit was filed on environmental grounds, although a separate lawsuit is more about the rights of the detainees there.
JUST IN: Judge Kathleen Williams orders “Alligator Alcatraz” shut down within 60 days — and blocks Trump & Florida from admitting any new detainees. pic.twitter.com/TOcBNZRNg8
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) August 22, 2025
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Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that “all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles that were installed to support this project” added to the existing facility must be removed within 60 days.
Per NBC News, this means the facility can stay open for now, but that no new construction can be added, nor any inmates added. The defense, however, has appealed the order.
“We are so relieved. We feel we presented voluminous evidence that is presented in her (Judge Williams’) order showing this was the right decision to protect the environment and the interest of Americans in the Everglades,” Elise Pautler Bennet, an attorney for one of the groups that sued told CNN.
“It’s literally torture.”
Florida woman asks inmates about her husband — who has a heart condition and disappeared in “Alligator Alcatraz”:
“The guards are not real guards. I had to eat handcuffed and handcuffed at the feet with a chain in-between. They don’t let you sleep… pic.twitter.com/3gTWMJgPFB
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) August 21, 2025
During the hearing in question, Judge Williams asked frequently who was “running the show,” as it wasn’t clear whether the facility was under the auspices of the federal government or the state of Florida.
“During the hearing, lawyers for two environmental groups cited comments made by Trump administration officials in interviews and social media posts that it’s an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. In court, lawyers for Florida maintained it’s a state detention center operating under ICE authority but couldn’t tell the judge who actually is in charge at the site,” NPR reported.
Other such immigration detention facilities have been announced in other parts of the country, including the “Speedway Slammer” in Indiana and the “Cornhusker Clink” in Nebraska.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
