Native American tribal rights Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress testified in a recent lawsuit that this is not the first time the tribe has had to
fight for its land and rights, affirming, "we will always stand up for our culture, our sovereignty, and for the Everglades" There are 15 remaining traditional Miccosukee and Seminole villages, recognised as
Indigenous people of the Everglades region, in Big Cypress, as well as ceremonial and burial grounds and other gathering sites, Cypress testified before Congress in 2024."We live here. Our ancestors fought and died here. They are buried here," he said. "The Big Cypress is part of us, and we are a part of it." The
Seminole Tribe of Florida was likewise in opposition citing sacred lands. The facility casts bright lights across sacred tribal lands where the Miccosukee people have conducted their annual
Green Corn Ceremony for many generations. The intense illumination disrupts the tribe’s spiritual practices and the delicate nocturnal ecosystem that depends on natural light cycles. Commenting on Trump's veto on returning tribal lands, Matthew Fletcher, a law professor at the
University of Michigan said, “It’s ironic, right? You’re acquiring land that your colonizer probably took from you a long time ago and then gave it away to or sold it to someone else, and then years later, you’re buying that land back that was taken from you illegally, at a great expense.”
Environmental challenge and injunction In June 2025,
Betty Osceola, a Miccosukee tribal judge and member of the Everglades Advisory Committee, organized Indigenous-led prayer gatherings and public demonstrations to highlight environmental and cultural concerns. Talbert Cypress, chairman of the
Miccosukee Business Council, noted that no environmental impact research had been done and that some Native villages were within of the camp's entrance. On June 27, 2025, a coalition led by
Friends of the Everglades, the
Center for Biological Diversity, and the
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, represented by
Earthjustice and attorney Paul Schwiep, filed suit in a federal court seeking an injunction until a full environmental review and public-comment period are completed. Plaintiffs argue that the project threatens the habitat of endangered species, including that of the
Florida panther and the
Florida bonneted bat, and violates both the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and tribal cultural-resource protections. On August 7, 2025, U.S. District Judge
Kathleen Williams temporarily halted construction at the facility for two weeks, while she considered if the detention center violates environmental laws. Witnesses testified that 20 acres (8 hectares) of new asphalt had been laid, while temporary tents, trailers, and other heavy equipment were at the airport. Located in tropical wetlands, its infrastructure and sewage may be sources of both
water pollution and
light pollution. Judge Williams later granted a preliminary injunction on August 21 that prohibits the government from transferring any additional detainees to the site or performing any more construction work. She also ordered the Trump administration to remove temporary fencing, industrial lighting, generators, sewage and waste receptacles from the site within 60 days. Uthmeier stated that they plan to keep the ICE facility running, despite the court order. The
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in a 2–1 decision early September, first stayed the injunction pending appeal, stating that because the federal government had yet to reimburse Florida's costs, federal law (the NEPA, which requires an environmental impact study) did not apply. The State's request for federal reimbursement had been submitted on August 7, 2025, which it did not inform the courts of. The Appellate Court granted a second stay, citing
the government shutdown. On August 14, Friends of the Everglades filed suit to access Florida's undisclosed records of government financing for the camp under the
Government in the Sunshine Act. In April 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the federal government could skip environmental review as the facility, considering it to be not “federally controlled”, making it the first circuit court to rule on amendments Congress added to the
National Environmental Policy Act in 2023. In March 2026, a state-commissioned environmental assessment report raised concerns about emissions of air pollutants exceeding regulatory thresholds, including
carbon monoxide and particulate matter from vehicle use and continuously running generators.
Civil liberties challenges On July 16, 2025, the
American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Florida, and Americans for Immigrant Justice filed a
class action suit claiming the
Trump administration violates the
First Amendment and
Fifth Amendment rights of people being detained, as well as the First Amendment rights of legal service organizations and law firms with clients held at the facility. The civil rights groups' lawsuit alleges detainees are
being held without charges and are not being given access to their attorneys. As part of this lawsuit that also contests the federal cancellation of bond hearings,
U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz has requested all written agreements and contracts showing who has legal custody of the hundreds of detainees. Immigration attorneys described the facility's alternate system as a place "where the normal rules don't apply." Gov. Ron DeSantis falsely stated on July 25 that "Everybody here is already on a final removal order," a lie repeated by his director of emergency management, Kevin Guthrie. Internal data show that the vast majority of detainees did not have final orders of removal from a judge before entering the facility (nearly 70% did not), but they may have been deported as the facility's population fell to below 400 late August. In January 2026, a former detainee from the camp deported to
Colombia and a second who had requested asylum was deported to
Haiti both testified before a District judge that the camp agents did not respect their right to legal counsel guaranteed by the
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In April, lawyer Katherine Blankenship accused state and federal officials of failing to comply with a federal judge's preliminary injunction allowing detainees to phone their lawyer. Blankenship also declared that camp guards severely beat and
pepper-sprayed detainees.
Illegal deportation to third countries Andy Pierre fled dangerous conditions in
Haiti in 1989 and was granted a US “Convention Against Torture Visa,” allowing him to remain in the United States legally. His lawyer, Troy Harris, is pursuing a reversal of his recent deportation. Pierre declared that ICE agents twice transferred him to the Mexican border without paperwork, but he refused to cross the border illegally. Yael Schacher of Refugees International, said, “What we found is
Mexico didn’t agree to take these folks, like people from far from the border, like people from Florida.” == Public response ==