The Workers Circle, a secular Jewish group that led "Freedom Vigils" for more than 40 weeks outside Alligator Alcatraz, celebrated the announcement Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis that the controversial immigration detention center in the Everglades was being closed.
"Alligator Alcatraz is now shut down due to the relentless action of thousands of people who refused to stand idly by," said Noelle Damico, Director of Social Justice at The Workers Circle, in a statement.
"Through forty-seven weeks of freedom vigils, organized by the Workers Circle and supported by dozens of faith, civic, community, and immigrant organizations, we exposed the brutal abuses, including torture, and ongoing violations of due process happening to people held inside Alligator Alcatraz."
READ MORE: Determined and driven: The people who show up each Sunday to demand closure of 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Indeed, for 47 consecutive weeks, the group organized "Freedom Vigils" directly outside the gates of Alligator Alcatraz, drawing national attention to the conditions inside.
"Alligator Alcatraz is a failed experiment in cruelty by the Trump and DeSantis administrations," Damico said. "For their own political ends, they tried to convince Americans to hate and fear immigrants and tolerate or justify brutality toward them. They failed. They failed here and will continue to fail across the nation because ordinary people said 'No! This is not who we are. This is not the America we will become.'"
Speaking at a news conference Thursday at Alligator Alcatraz, DeSantis said the center was always meant to be only temporary until more permanent detention centers could be secured and federal officials now have that capacity.
"It served its purpose for the time," the Republican governor said.
The detention center was built by DeSantis' administration in a matter of days and opened in July 2025. DeSantis and President Donald Trump said the detention center was critical to Republican efforts to return people in the country illegally back to their home countries.
"There is no question this mission has made the state of Florida safer," said DeSantis, noting that 21,000 people were deported through the facility.
The detention camp had long been a lightning rod for controversy, drawing sharp criticism from civil rights organizations, legal watchdogs, and community leaders who alleged severe human rights violations.
State and federal officials rejected such allegations, saying all rules and regulations were followed in detaining immigrants.
Damico and others say the fight over the Trump administration's immigration policy and detention practices is far from over.
The Workers Circle and its allies plan to use the Florida experience as a blueprint to challenge similar facilities nationwide, promising that those responsible for the camp's operations will face scrutiny.
"We’re sharing these lessons across the nation. And we will hold all who designed, carried out, or profited off this brutal experiment accountable," Damico said. "History has given this moment into our hands. We all face the choice of whether we will act or stay on the sidelines."
"Together we stood as immigrants and citizens alike, reflecting the strength of America, a belief in our Constitution, and the commitment to go the distance, shoulder-to-shoulder for freedom and justice," Damico said. "This fight for our Constitution, human dignity, and freedom continues, buoyed by this decisive victory."
