When Public Lands Become Prison Camps
A new facility being built in Big Cypress National Preserve is raising serious concern in our communities — especially among those who care about civil rights, public lands, and how we protect both people and the environment.
It’s being called Alligator Alcatraz. It’s a militarized immigration detention complex under construction inside one of the most ecologically sensitive preserves in the U.S., on land that belongs not just to the American people, but to the Miccosukee and Seminole peoples, whose histories and futures are bound to it. Built in the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve — a federally protected wilderness in South Florida — this “facility” is raising serious concern from our communities all across America.
This project is now facing legal challenges due to the lack of environmental review, public comment, and tribal consultation.
Public Lands Are Not Prison Camps
As a nonprofit rooted in the Appalachian region, we advocate to protect public lands from exploitation — whether by extractive industry, overdevelopment, or government overreach. What’s happening in Big Cypress isn’t just a Florida issue, it’s a warning for every region across America, especially those of us in rural areas like Appalachia where land is vast, oversight is weak, and vulnerable communities are too often silenced.
Public lands, meant for preservation, public access, and equitable use are now being repurposed to detain vulnerable people under harsh immigration policies— without review or public input.
No Consent. No Oversight. No Humanity.
The Dade-Collier site is located on federally managed lands within a National Preserve, bordering Indigenous tribal territories and sacred sites. Construction began in June without any tribal consultation, environmental impact assessments, or public transparency.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has described the location’s natural surroundings as “natural perimeters money can’t buy,” framing it as an ideal security feature. However, critics argue that the facility is essentially a prison camp situated in a swamp, deliberately designed to make escape and external oversight nearly impossible.
Detaining people in a remote wetland environment, surrounded by alligators, is being presented as acceptable, but many see this as neither humane nor just.
This Land is Our Land
This is about the absence of our voices in decisions affecting our public lands—without sufficient public input, environmental review, or respect for Indigenous communities. It’s also about upholding protections for the environment, wildlife, and natural processes through laws and legal rights rooted in the Constitution and federal statutes. When projects move forward without these safeguards, they threaten our fundamental rights and the health of our lands.
Constitution and Legal Briefing:
First Amendment: Guarantees the right to petition the government and receive information, supporting public input and transparency in government decisions.
Administrative Procedure Act (APA): Federal law (not in the Constitution) requiring public notice and opportunities for comment on federal agency decisions, including environmental reviews.
Treaty Clause (Article II, Section 2): Recognizes treaties made with Indigenous nations as the supreme law of the land.
Tribal Sovereignty: Federal laws and Supreme Court decisions affirm tribal sovereignty and require consultation on federal actions affecting tribal lands and interests (e.g., Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Executive Orders on Tribal Consultation).
Environmental Laws (e.g., NEPA): Require environmental impact assessments for federal projects. Note: As of July 2, the Senate’s Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) has not officially passed nor altered NEPA during the construction of the “Alligator Alcatraz” facility.
Fifth Amendment: Protects individuals from deprivation of “life, liberty, or property” without due process of law.
Fourteenth Amendment: Applies to states and guarantees equal protection under the law, supporting protections against discrimination affecting Indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups.
It’s also about the future of Appalachia. If it can happen in Big Cypress, it can happen in the Monongahela, the Smokies, the Pisgah, the George Washington & Jefferson.
Demand Justice for Public Lands and Our People
We must insist on environmental reviews that ensure public input, respect Indigenous consultation, and uphold protections guaranteed by law and the Constitution. These processes are essential to safeguarding our lands, communities, and rights.
TAKE ACTION!
Learn More about the Big Cypress National Preserve
Share this story. Tag your local land trusts, environmental coalitions, and human rights organizations.
FACT SHEET:
The facility is being built on federally managed public lands (Big Cypress National Preserve).
It is reportedly a detention center — designed to confine people, with no environmental review, no tribal consultation, and no public process.
The nature of the facility aligns with the definition of a prison camp — i.e., a remote, high-security site used to detain people in masses in harsh conditions.
Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/alligator-alcatraz-florida-everglades-protest-db34866aae64a3ff6880310403be40fd
https://apnews.com/article/florida-alligator-alcatraz-history-immigration-detention-activism-796d5fae66d28de45c647241aa02d7bd
https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/06/alligator-alcatraz-proposed-abandoned-airport-project-inside-big-cypress-national-preserve
https://abc13.com/post/what-is-alligator-alcatraz-florida-ag-james-uthmeier-proposes-migrant-detention-center-everglades/16848113/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/chapter-5
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-2/section-2/
https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-administrative-procedure-act
https://www.congress.gov/bill/93rd-congress/senate-bill/1017/text?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-14/
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