After U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams shut down Alligator Alcatraz in the Florida Everglades last month, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has paused the order.
Williams had stated in her order that she expected the number of inmates to decline at the facility in the next 60 days, with many being transferred to other prisons, WOFL reported. After that, generators along with fencing and lighting were expected to be taken away from the detention facility.
The lawsuit prompting Williams’ ruling came from environmentalists and the Miccosukee Tribe, who claimed the facility could negatively impact the environment in the Florida Everglades.
On Wednesday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a written opinion for their 2-1 decision. Some of the text made the rounds via social media platform X, noting the absurdity of the environmental activists’ lawsuit’s reasoning.
4/4 The pretzel posture of the judges rightly leave the appellate court skeptical of all of their reasoning! pic.twitter.com/n0ILZZ8TIS
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) September 4, 2025
“After careful consideration we GRANT the Defendants’ motions, and we STAY the preliminary injunction and the underlying case itself pending appeal,” the court wrote.
They then targeted the content of the lawsuit and Williams’ order.
“The district court specifically noted ‘light pollution affecting members’ ability to observe the night skies’ and ‘noise pollution impacting members’ ability to observe and interact with wildlife.’
“In reaching this conclusion, the district court did not mention that, although located in the Big Cypress Reserve near the Everglades, the Site was a working airport with close to 28,000 landings and takeoffs in the prior six months alone, bright lights kept on ’24/7,’ and a lack of noise abatement requirements before the sites conversion to a detention center.”
So the activists and judges failed to mention that the Trump administration and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis did not just drop a prison in the middle of the Everglades, selecting a random location.
The site was home to an airport.
The lawsuit now looks even more ridiculous.
The Department of Homeland Security commented on the Court of Appeals’ decision, per Reuters.
“This lawsuit was never about the environmental impacts of turning a developed airport into a detention facility,
“It has and will always be about open borders activists and judges trying to keep law enforcement from removing dangerous criminal aliens from our communities, full stop.”
This raises the question of how to address activist judges like Williams.
She was appointed under the Obama Administration in 2011 and clearly cares more about stopping the Trump Administration than honestly applying the rule of law.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.