Who has legal custody of hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees? Judge mounts heat on officials to produce immigration agreements

A federal judge on Monday (August 4, 2025) ordered federal and state officials in Florida to produce agreements showing which government agency or private contractor has legal authority to detain people or perform immigration officer roles at “Alligator Alcatraz,” the immigration detention facility in the Everglades.

Giving a deadline to officials, U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said that they must provide by Thursday (August 7, 2025) all written agreements and contracts showing who has legal custody of the hundreds of detainees at the facility that was hastily constructed more than a month ago on an isolated airstrip in South Florida's Everglades wilderness.

“Alligator Alcatraz” detainees' ‘rights being violated’

The order from the federal judge came as part of an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against the state and federal governments by immigration attorneys. According to them, the constitutional rights of detainees are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings, news agency AP reported.

Who has authority over the detention center has been a murky issue since it opened at the beginning of July 2025. The federal government and Florida had asked that any disclosures be limited to agreements between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and three Florida agencies: the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida National Guard, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The detainees' attorneys had requested documents showing who was responsible for removal proceedings, as well as information on the number of employees at “Alligator Alcatraz,” but Ruiz said those requests from the detainees' lawyers were too broad.

The lawsuit is the second to challenge “Alligator Alcatraz.” Environmental groups have sued federal and state officials, asking that the project be halted because the process didn’t follow state and federal environmental laws. A hearing on that lawsuit is set for Wednesday (August 6, 2025).