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DeSantis says Florida remains 'committed to the mission' despite ruling to stop expanding 'Alligator Alcatraz'

Governor calls US District Judge Kathleen Williams an 'activist judge'

Gov. Ron DeSantis Facebook page

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a news conference in Panama City on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.

By: Scott Sutton , Associated Press

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PANAMA CITY, Fla.. — Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down on his commitment to "Alligator Alcatraz," a day after a judge ruled that the immigration detention center built in the middle of the Everglades must halt expansion.

During a news conference in Panama City, the governor said the ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams was something the state was expecting and would "respond accordingly."

WATCH BELOW: DeSantis says judge's ruling won't 'deter' state

DeSantis says Florida remains 'committed to the mission' despite ruling on Alligator Alcatraz

"This is a judge that was not going to give us a fair shake," DeSantis said. "This was preordained, very much an activist judge who is trying to do policy from the bench. This is not going to deter us."

Despite the controversy surrounding "Alligator Alcatraz," the governor called the facility a "success," prompting a "demand for more" centers to hold undocumented immigrants.

The governor said his push to open a similar facility in Baker County, deemed the "Deportation Depot," would not be set back by Thursday's ruling.

"We're committed to the mission," the governor said. "We'll make sure to get the job done in the end."

Read the judge's 82-page ruling below:

State Files Appeal

The state of Florida filed a notice of appeal Thursday night, shortly after the ruling was issued.

"The deportations will continue until morale improves," DeSantis spokesman Alex Lanfranconi said in response to the judge's ruling.

Williams said she expected the population of the facility to decline within 60 days through the transferring of the detainees to other facilities, and once that happened, fencing, lighting and generators should be removed. She wrote the state and federal defendants can't bring anyone other than those who are already being detained at the facility onto the property. The order does not prohibit modification or repairs to existing facilities, "which are solely for the purpose of increasing safety or mitigating environmental or other risks at the site."

The preliminary injunction includes "those who are in active concert or participation with” the state of Florida or federal defendants or their officers, agents, employees," the judge wrote in an 82-page order.

Williams said state officials never sufficiently explained why the facility needed to be in the middle of the Florida Everglades.

"What is apparent, however, is that in their haste to construct the detention camp, the State did not consider alternative locations," Williams said.

Judge cites decades-long efforts to preserve Everglades

Williams said her order gave the state and federal defendants time to wind down the facility so that it can undergo the required environmental assessments. She noted the three-quarters century of efforts to preserve the Everglades.

"Since that time, every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades," she wrote. "This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises."

President Donald Trump toured the facility last month and suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide as his administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations.

Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe had argued that further construction and operations should be stopped until federal and state officials complied with federal environmental laws. Their lawsuit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars’ worth of environmental restoration.

Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, called the ruling a landmark victory for the Everglades and Americans who believe this imperiled wilderness should be protected.

"It sends a clear message that environmental laws must be respected by leaders at the highest levels of our government — and there are consequences for ignoring them," Samples said in a statement.

Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress said this isn't the first time the tribe has to fight for its land and rights.

"We will always stand up for our culture, our sovereignty, and for the Everglades," Cypress said in a statement.

Attorneys for the state and federal defendants didn't immediately respond to emailed inquiries late Thursday. But they have previously argued that, although the detention center would be holding federal detainees, the construction and operation of the facility was entirely under the state of Florida, meaning the federal environmental law didn’t apply.

The judge has said the detention facility was, at a minimum, a joint partnership between the state and federal government.

The detention center was quickly built almost two months ago at a lightly used, single-runway training airport in the middle of the Everglades. It currently holds several hundred detainees but was designed to eventually hold up to 3,000 detainees in temporary tent structures.

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