Judge dismisses part of lawsuit over detainees' legal access at 'Alligator Alcatraz'

Posted By: Staff
August 19, 2025 @ 9:42 am
ABC National

The temporary detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” was built on a rarely used airstrip in the Florida Everglades. Peter Charalambous/ABC News

(MIAMI) — A federal judge in Miami has dismissed part of a lawsuit from immigrant advocates after finding that many of the detained plaintiffs at the migrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” have received access to legal counsel.

The judge also transferred the case to a different jurisdiction after agreeing with the Trump administration and state attorneys for Florida that the venue where the case was filed is improper.

The order came hours after a hearing on Monday in which lawyers for the detainees sought a ruling from the judge, U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, that would require authorities to expand legal access at the facility,

“Several developments have occurred since Plaintiffs filed this case,” Judge Ruiz, a Trump nominee, said in his order overnight.

“First, many of the Detained Plaintiffs have been transferred out of Alligator Alcatraz,” Ruis said. “Second, many of the Detained Plaintiffs (including those who have since been transferred out of Alligator Alcatraz) have received access to counsel, and all the Attorney Plaintiffs have received access to Alligator Alcatraz detainees.”

The plaintiffs had also argued that the defendants hadn’t made clear which immigration court had jurisdiction over the detention facility, preventing detainees from filing court petitions.

But after the defendants filed a notice with the court designating the immigration court at Krome Detention Center in Miami as the court with jurisdiction over Alligator Alcatraz, the judge ruled the plaintiffs claim is moot.

Ruiz also agreed with the defendants that the Southern District of Florida is the wrong venue since the facility is located in the state’s Middle District of Florida.