MIAMI— Environmental groups will advance their legal case against “Alligator Alcatraz” amid news that the federal government has moved all detainees out of the mass detention center in the heart of the Everglades.

In statements to news media on Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed detainees had been relocated, but Gov. Ron DeSantis left the door open for future operations at the detention center. Meanwhile, the facility continues to threaten the Everglades, with heavy equipment and lights still in operation and hazardous materials moving on and off the property within Big Cypress National Preserve.

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, which originally sued the Trump and DeSantis administrations in June 2025, affirmed their commitment to return to the trial court this month to stop the harm and force full remediation of the damage.

“‘Alligator Alcatraz’ will go down as one of the biggest failures in American history,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “Our government failed to protect the Everglades and failed to follow basic environmental laws — while racking up a $1 billion tab paid by taxpayers. We sued to stop the harm, our case continues, and we will not let up until this makeshift prison permanently closes and all the damage is undone.”

“The Trump and DeSantis administrations have shown that we can’t trust their spin about ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ and we won’t let them skulk away from this environmental and moral disaster like it never happened,” said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The transfer of detained people out of this dystopian hellhole is a significant milestone, but it’s not enough. We’ll keep fighting until panthers can return to the embrace of their native home and bonneted bats can reclaim the star-spangled skies.”

In partnership with federal agencies, Florida hastily built the ICE detention center in June 2025 in Big Cypress National Preserve without conducting required federal environmental reviews.

Friends of the Everglades, represented by Earthjustice and private attorneys Paul Schwiep and Scott Hiaasen, along with the Center for Biological Diversity, sued in June 2025 to enforce the law that requires review of environmental impacts under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, which has villages close to the unpermitted facility, joined the lawsuit.

“We will not rest until the government is held accountable for violating the law and the public trust,” said Tania Galloni, managing attorney for Earthjustice’s Florida regional office. “It is great that detainees have been removed from this devastating facility. But the risks to people and the environment remain. Now we must make sure nothing like this happens again.”

In addition to violations of NEPA, the National Historic Preservation Act and state laws, the groups also announced their intent to challenge violations of additional environmental laws. In October 2025, Friends also sued Florida for withholding public records related to federal control and funding of the facility and in January 2026 won a court order requiring the records’ disclosure. In May the Center also sued Florida for violating the Clean Air Act.

“This facility was conceived behind closed doors, constructed without any public input, operated in secret, and now is, apparently, being mothballed without any explanation of how the site will be remediated or any commitment that it will be permanently closed. The government may hope to slink away from this debacle, but fundamental federal and state laws enacted to protect the environment have been ignored and we remain committed to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable and that the site is fully remediated to prevent this episode from reoccurring,” said Paul J. Schwiep of Coffey Burlington and counsel for Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.

The detention site was previously the center of a national battle over a proposed jetport in the 1960s. Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the renowned writer turned environmental activist, founded Friends of the Everglades to fight that jetport with allies. Their success meant that for decades the site’s use was restricted to a small, pilot training facility with only a handful of employees. The fight became a catalyst for the creation of the National Environmental Policy Act in 1970.