Florida officials announced the closure of “Alligator Alcatraz” on June 25, 2026, when Gov. Ron DeSantis said the immigrant detention facility had “fulfilled the role it was designed to serve” and would cease operations.
The following statement from Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), executive director of Native Organizers Alliance:
“The federal government, with the support of the State of Florida, constructed and operated Alligator Alcatraz in violation of the sovereign rights of the Miccosukee Tribe, who took the government to court for illegally constructing the center without their consultation or consent.
As Native peoples, we have a sacred obligation passed down from our ancestors to care for the land and everyone who depends on it. The construction of the detention center in Florida was on the ancestral lands of the Miccosukee Tribe. The buildings endangered delicate and protected ecosystems. Alligator Alcatraz put thousands of immigrants at risk. The reported filthy and unsafe conditions were a violation of the human rights of immigrants and their families.
The administration’s violent crackdown on migrant communities is an affront to all we stand for as Native peoples. We are opposed to any government operation that violates the human rights of our neighbors and all who reside on this land. As we saw in Minneapolis earlier this year, ICE operations operate with little to no oversight or safeguards, acting illegally in many cases. Multiple people, including babies, have died in, or as a result of, ICE custody. This must end.
The closure of Alligator Alcatraz is a victory for human rights and Tribal Sovereignty, but we want to see an end to all inhumane and unlawful detention of our neighbors who are simply trying to live, work, and raise their families.”
