Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gleefully announced on Thursday that an appeals court blocked an Obama-appointed judge’s ruling which allowed for Alligator Alcatraz to resume its operations.
An appeals court blocked U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ order from Aug. 7 which issued a temporary restraining order on any further construction of the detention facility, which earned the name “Alligator Alcatraz,” due to environmental concerns. DeSantis celebrated the appeals court’s decision against the “leftist” judge, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, who attempted to interfere with Florida’s “immigration enforcement.”
“The mission continues on immigration enforcement. The media was giddy that somehow Alligator Alcatraz was ‘shutting down.’ Now we told them that that wasn’t true, there had been illegal aliens continuing to be there and removed and returned to their home country,” DeSantis said. “But they ran with the narrative because some leftist judge ruled implausibly that somehow Florida wasn’t allowed to use our own property to help the federal government in this important mission because they didn’t do an environmental impact statement. Well, we said we would fight that, and we said the mission would continue, and I’m pleased to say that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has just stayed that ruling and stayed the case. So Alligator Alcatraz is, in fact, like we always said, open for business.”
WATCH:
The mission continues at Alligator Alcatraz.
The media was wrong.
The leftist judge has been overturned.
Florida will keep leading the way. pic.twitter.com/Ik2fJnqXIP
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 4, 2025
Williams’ ruling prompted illegal immigrants detained at the center to be transferred to other facilities. She issued another indefinite halt on further construction and prohibited any new detainees from being housed at the facility.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Florida and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) favor, which placed a stay on William’s ruling.
“After careful consideration, we grant the defendants’ motions and we stay the preliminary injunction and the underlying case itself pending appeal,” the appellate judges said.
Alligator Alcatraz sits on an abandoned airfield in the middle of the Florida Everglades, where it is deemed nearly impossible for detainees to escape. Republican Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier proposed the idea for the detention facility in June, which quickly gained support from President Donald Trump’s administration.
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