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Department of Justice seeks pause in 'Alligator Alcatraz,' citing government shutdown

WPTV's Chief Investigative Reporter Jamie Ostroff is digging into the environmental lawsuit that claims that they can't argue the case if they're not getting paid during the shutdown

AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Work progresses on a new migrant detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility in the Florida Everglades, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla.

By: Jamie Ostroff

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The federal government shutdown could impact a lawsuit challenging the construction of a state-run immigration detention facility in the middle of the Everglades, known as "Alligator Alcatraz."

WATCH BELOW: DOJ seeks pause in 'Alligator Alcatraz,' citing government shutdown

DOJ seeks pause in 'Alligator Alcatraz,' citing government shutdown

Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice are asking a federal appeals court to stop all proceedings in the environmental lawsuit, writing in a filing that they can't argue the case if they're not getting paid during the shutdown.

The lawsuit was brought by Friends of the Everglades, the Miccosukee Tribe and other environmental groups in June. They argue the state of Florida and the federal government broke the law when they built the detention facility in the middle of the Big Cypress National Preserve without first assessing how it would impact the environment.

Both governments argue Alligator Alcatraz is a state project and the state doesn't have to follow the National Environmental Policy Act, a statute that applies to federal projects.

In August, a district court judge in Miami ordered the dismantling of the detention facility within 60 days. However, the court of appeals paused that order in early September, and the facility remains operational.

In response, Friends of the Everglades and their fellow plaintiffs filed a motion urging the appeals court to keep the case moving through the federal government shutdown.

"Real damage is continuing to happen to the Everglades, and we see that the federal government and state government are making Alligator Alcatraz a top priority," said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. "So we would hope that they would allocate attorneys who are working to keeping this moving, so we can have the courts decide."

Earlier this month, the federal government approved $608 million via the Department of Homeland Security to reimburse the state for Alligator Alcatraz. Questions about how much of that money has been disbursed and whether the shutdown will impact that disbursement have not been answered by DHS.

Friends of the Everglades filed a new lawsuit against the State of Florida Tuesday, claiming state officials violated Florida's public records laws by not providing records on the financial arrangements between the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which oversees Alligator Alcatraz, and the federal government.

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