Law360 (August 17, 2026, 7:03 PM EDT) -- A Florida federal court has dismissed without prejudice a lawsuit alleging that state and federal officials unconstitutionally prevented noncitizens held at an Everglades immigrant detention center from accessing counsel, finding the lawsuit moot in light of the facility's closure.
U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell held on Friday that while the case is about access to counsel, the closure of the South Florida Detention Facility, announced by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in June, is "unquestionably a critical, relevant development." There is "no way to know" whether state and federal authorities would implement the same attorney access policies if the facility reopened, she said, though adding: "The court is not naïve."
She further pointed to her
preliminary injunction from March.
"Under these circumstances, it is unreasonable to think they would flout this court and implement the same constitutionally deficient policies in any future facility," she said in
Friday's order.
The plaintiffs — three noncitizens who'd been detained at the facility, an immigration law firm and a legal services organization — also "essentially concede" that their bid for a permanent injunction is moot, she said, and instead pivot to seeking declaratory relief.
However, that would still require a showing that there is a live controversy at the shuttered facility, and "defendants are not applying access to counsel policies to any current or future detainees," she said. To the extent the plaintiffs seek declaratory relief with respect to other future facilities, such a judgment would constitute an impermissible advisory opinion, she added.
Dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, the Everglades detention facility has also been the subject of
environmental litigation, some of which
remains ongoing.
Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
The plaintiffs are represented by Corene T. Kendrick, Kyle Virgien, Marisol Dominguez-Ruiz and Carmen Iguina González of the
ACLU Foundation, Amy Godshall, Samuel Lester and Daniel Tilley of the ACLU Foundation of Florida, and Paul R. Chavez, Jennifer Smith and Christina LaRocca of
Americans for Immigrant Justice.
The federal defendants are represented by Chad C. Spraker of the
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Florida is represented by Francis A. Zacherl III, Oliver Sepulveda, Nicholas J.P. Meros, Tara Price, Kassandra S. Reardon and Margaret A. McCormick of
Shutts & Bowen LLP.
The case is H.C.R. et al. v. Mullin et al., case number
2:25-cv-00747, in the
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
--Additional reporting by Britain Eakin and David Minsky. Editing by Nick Siwek.
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