In pursuit of immigration enforcement, the DeSantis administration quickly seized Everglades land to construct the center. A fleet of trucks transported crucial equipment into the sensitive area. Meanwhile, environmentalists sued to prevent the facility from operating, citing potential ecological damage.

Detainees are said to go days without showering or getting prescription medicine, and they are only able to speak by phone to lawyers and loved ones.

PolitiFact | Gov. Ron DeSantis did not provide evidence showing how state agencies or officials determined the facility has zero environmental impact.

J une 19 Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announces plans for a migrant detention center in the Everglades via X. The state has declared its official name to be Alligator Alcatraz. June 21 Protesters begin gathering near the proposed site at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport as trucks carrying supplies and fill dirt stream in.

Cited concerns included light pollution, saying the bright lights from the facility are diminishing the internationally recognized dark skies of Big Cypress.

Fraga's account is one of several stories from inmates and attorneys about the detention facility’s challenges during its initial opening week.

One of the largest flocks of American flamingos in the last decade was spotted in the Everglades recently, the South Florida Water Management District said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Hunters Vie for $25,000 in Prizes to Protect Florida's Ecosystem The 2025 Florida Python Challenge™ officially began today, with hundreds of registered participants already scouring the Everglades in a crucial effort to remove invasive Burmese pythons.