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Alligator Alcatraz sits empty, but fight over Everglades land and environmental damage continues

Environmentalists and the Miccosukee Tribe seek full restoration of the land and accountability for environmental damage

WPTV, Jeremy Adkins

Alligator Alcatraz on June 26, 2026

By: Kayla McDermott

Posted

and last updated

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Trailers are rolling out of the remote immigration detention center in the Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz, but environmental advocates and members of the Miccosukee Tribe say the fight over the land is far from over.

The facility, which once held undocumented immigrants, is being dismantled piece by piece. A group gathered at the entrance Friday morning, and many say the closure alone does not undo the harm they believe was done to one of the most sensitive ecosystems in the country.

WATCH BELOW: Alligator Alcatraz closes — but the Everglades fight isn't over

Alligator Alcatraz closes — but the Everglades fight isn't over

"It's gratifying. I wish it was happening quicker," Elise Bennett of the Center for Biological Diversity said.

Betty Osceola of the Miccosukee Tribe said the work is not finished.

"It's not over for me until all that infrastructure comes out," Osceola said.

Environmental advocates say high-intensity lighting, diesel generators, heavy paving and continuous traffic may have damaged critical habitat for endangered Florida panthers and other wildlife.

"All of this was subjected to immense damage," Bennett said. "That harm has not been undone by the announcement of a closure."

Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, called the facility a misuse of public funds and natural resources.

"It was an obscene waste of taxpayer dollars, dollars to the tune of about a billion dollars. It was an abuse of the Everglades," Samples said.

The group has a pending federal lawsuit against the facility.

State officials closing the site see it differently. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the center accomplished what it was built to do.

"Alligator Alcatraz fulfilled the role it was designed to serve. There's no question this mission has made the state of Florida safer," DeSantis said during a Thursday news conference.

DeSantis has said the center was always intended to be short-lived.

Now, the question of what happens to the roughly 25,000-acre space remains unresolved. A recent proposal from Miami-Dade County's mayor would transfer the land to the National Park Service for conservation.

"The mayor's proposal acknowledges that all of the land needs to be conserved and restored, so we are encouraged," Samples said.

But Osceola said she does not trust government agencies to protect the land.

"I don't trust the federal government to protect anything, nor the state government," Osceola said.

Osceola said her tribe has a deep and personal connection to the landscape and believes the Miccosukee people are its rightful stewards.

"My family foraging for food out here, living on this landscape," Osceola said. "We are the best stewards to receive that landscape."

For Samples, the stakes extend beyond this single site.

"This fight is about more than the land behind us," Samples said. "It's about protecting our bedrock environmental protections in this country."

WPTV asked ICE whether there is a plan to protect the Everglades as they move out. ICE referred us to Florida's Division of Emergency Management, the agency leading those efforts. A response is still pending.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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