Major blow for Trump after judge orders the shutdown of Alligator Alcatraz

A judge has ordered Donald Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Florida to close down within 60 days.

No new detainees may be brought to the controversial site, in the Florida Everglades, which has faced huge criticism for its poor conditions for prisoners.

The site is surrounded by dangerous wildlife including alligators, pythons and mosquitos, supposedly to prevent detainees from escaping.

District court judge Kathleen Williams has also blocked any further development of the facility, which was built on the site of an airstrip.

She noted that plans for a huge tourist hub were rejected in the 1960s amid fears of the environmental impact of a large airport.

Judge Williams said that since then successive Florida governors, senators and presidents had publicly supported conserving the natural site.

‘This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfil those promises’, she said.

Inside ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, the abandoned airport turned Trump’s migrant detention facility

The ruling is a fresh blow to the president’s crime campaign, after he hailed the camp as fit for ‘some of the most vicious people on the planet’ during a visit in July.

The site, designed to hold up to 3,000 prisoners, was seen as a model for detention centres that could facilitate Trump’s plans for mass deportations.

It has tent structures to house migrants and will cost $450million to operate annually, money which will be reimbursed to the state by federal government.

Just months ago, the first journalists allowed onto the site, reported that thousands of detainees were being crammed into cages and fed limited rations.

Environmental groups who have campaigned for the protection of the Everglades welcomed the ruling.

Eve Samples, executive director of friends of the Everglades, said: ‘This is a landmark victory for the Everglades and countless Americans who believe this imperilled wilderness should be protected, not exploited.’

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