A federal appeals court has blocked a lower court’s decision to dismantle Alligator Alcatraz, an immigration detention facility in Florida. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted a stay on the preliminary injunction, allowing the facility to remain open while the lawsuit challenging its operation moves through the judicial system.

The ruling prevents the facility from shutting down within 60 days as previously ordered by a lower court. The appeals court ruled that the detention center’s status as a federal action requiring environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act was improperly determined. Judge Barbara Lagoa, writing for the majority, criticized the lower court’s conclusion, noting that while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has allocated $600 million for the facility, funding remains unfinalized.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida had classified the center as a federal operation based on statements from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggesting potential reimbursement for construction. However, the appeals court rejected this reasoning, stating that such an expectation “is insufficient as a matter of law to federalize the action.”

Environmental groups had sued to halt operations, arguing that the facility’s location on a former airstrip within the Big Cypress National Preserve causes irreversible harm. A federal judge previously ordered the facility’s expansion halted and its closure through attrition, citing environmental concerns. The appeals court’s decision allows the case to proceed only after Florida’s appeal is resolved.

The ruling was issued by Judges Barbara Lagoa and Elizabeth Branch, both appointed during President Trump’s first term, while Judge Adalberto Jordan, an Obama nominee, dissented. DHS praised the outcome, calling it a “win for the American people, the rule of law, and common sense,” and asserted the lawsuit centered on “open-borders activists” rather than environmental impacts.