Media Advisory, June 17, 2026
|
Contact: |
Eve Samples, Friends of the Everglades, (772) 485-8164, [email protected] |
Press Conference Today: ICE Removes All Detainees From “Alligator Alcatraz,” Environmental Lawsuit Resumes
MIAMI— Environmental groups that sued to stop “Alligator Alcatraz” will hold a virtual press conference at 2 p.m. today to address U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s transfer of detainees out of the massive detention center in the heart of the Everglades.
ICE and the state of Florida have removed all detainees from the makeshift prison that was built in Big Cypress National Preserve, according to statements the federal agency made on Tuesday.
The news comes as Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity are poised to return to federal court to hold the DeSantis and Trump administrations accountable for not complying with environmental laws and to ensure restoration of the ecosystems that were harmed.
What: Press conference on “Alligator Alcatraz” detainee transfer.
When: 2 p.m. EST, Wednesday, June 17
Where: Virtual via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/launch/jc/89278577085
Who: Representatives from Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, Coffey Burlington and Floridians for Public Lands.
Background
In June 2025 the state of Florida built “Alligator Alcatraz” at the behest of the federal government on land commandeered from Miami-Dade County in an ecologically sensitive area surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve. Friends of the Everglades, represented by Earthjustice and Coffey Burlington attorneys Paul Schwiep and Scott Hiaasen, along with the Center for Biological Diversity, sued that same month to enforce the National Environmental Policy Act. The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, which has villages close to the unpermitted facility, joined the lawsuit.
Friends of the Everglades is a nonprofit founded by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1969 to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.8 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Earthjustice is the premier environmental law organization in the U.S., and the legal backbone of the domestic environmental movement. For over 50 years, we have been fighting in the courts, in legislatures, and in the court of public opinion to stop the climate crisis, create healthy communities free of pollution, safeguard our precious lands and waters, and expand environmental legal frameworks to achieve these goals. Earthjustice.org
