The fate of a makeshift immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” hung in the balance on Wednesday as a federal judge considered whether building on sensitive wetlands violated environmental laws.

Environmentalists and the Miccosukee Tribe are urging U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams to issue a preliminary injunction halting operations and construction at the site.

A federal judge is considering whether the construction of a makeshift immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," violates environmental laws.

Florida Republican Gov_ Ron DeSantis’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility at a state prison in north Florida, as a federal judge decides the fate of the state’s holding center for immigrants at an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.

Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that his administration is opening a new immigration detention facility dubbed "Deportation Depot." The announcement of the new facility in north Florida comes one month after the state opened a detention center in the Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz.