A federal judge on Thursday handed environmentalists a win, ordering the rapid closure of a migrant detention facility in Florida dubbed by state officials as “Alligator Alcatraz” that has widely been criticized for what inmates and advocates describe as inhumane conditions.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams issued an 82-page order that determined the facility was causing significant damage to the Florida Everglades, giving the state 60 days to effectively shutter it.
In the meantime, she also said that migrants can’t be moved there, tents can’t be added, new lights can’t be installed and no more swamp can be dredged and paved over.