Calling it "exactly the kind of disaster that Congress took pains to avoid," attorneys for immigrants held at a detention center in the Everglades filed a lawsuit alleging Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration lacks the authority to run the facility.

A federal judge in Miami gave the state of Florida 60 days to clear out the immigrant detention facility called Alligator Alcatraz on Aug. 21, 2025.

The answer could play a key role in a legal battle over the facility’s fate. And it has bigger implications, too.

The findings raise questions about the DeSantis administration's vetting of the companies that received Alligator Alcatraz contracts.