Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is hoping his state will follow Florida’s lead and help the Trump administration by making a facility available to temporarily detain illegal immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” the facility is a state-funded immigration detention site Florida built at the remote Dade-Collier Training & Transition Airport in the Everglades to give ICE additional capacity to hold migrants pending removal.
Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe sued, arguing the state sidestepped federal environmental review requirements. On Sept. 4, a divided 11th Circuit panel (2–1) put a lower court’s shutdown order on hold, noting the record showed no federal funding that would trigger NEPA, which allows Florida to keep the site operating while the appeal proceeds.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit lifted a lower court’s order Thursday that blocked use of the “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE detention facility in the Sunshine State.
Marshall, who is also a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2026, discussed the issue during a recent appearance on “Just the News: No Noise” show.
“I think we’re going to call it Yellowhammer-something,” Marshall quipped. “When you look at the history of our state.”
Amanda Head, one of the hosts of the show, responded that it should be named “the Alabama Slammer.”
The attorney general said he liked that idea.
“There we go,” Marshall responded. “I will pass that on to the appropriate authorities.”
Marshall also explained how Alabama has already been helping President Trump on this issue.
“You know, interestingly, we have facilities in Alabama in which we house illegals that are otherwise in the immigration system,” he explained. “The fact that Florida built this facility for the federal government to use, and a district judge in Florida was going to say, ‘You didn’t follow one provision that applies to a federal contractor these facilities,’ to not only shut down the ability to house these folks are here unlawfully, but to cause this destruction was completely wrong.”
Marshall said the Court of Appeals ruling will effectively encourage other states to help ICE as well.
“The 11th Circuit was able to weigh in to allow Florida to continue to do that the work they’re doing,” he argued. “And look this bill sets the stage for other states to be able to assist the Trump administration and Secretary Noem in dealing with what the Joe Biden administration cause. That’s the influx of illegals that now the Trump administration is going to deal with effectively.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
