A controversial detention facility in the heart of the Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz is slated to shut down in June, according to reports from vendors at the facility and a release from the Center of Biological Diversit y.The facility, built last summer in Big Cypress National Preserve without environmental permits, was used to detain people as part of the Trump administrations immigration initiative.Conservation groups and the Miccosukee Tribe sued last year to stop operations, citing damage to endangered species and wetlands. A court paused operations, and attorneys plan to resume their lawsuit in early June when jurisdiction returns to the trial judge.Surrounded by protected land, the facility has faced criticism from environmentalists who argue that it violated the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and other federal and state laws.Advocates say closure is only the first step, and they will continue pushing for full remediation and removal of fencing, lighting, and other infrastructure to protect the sensitive landscape.We won't let up until Alligator Alcatraz is shut down and its harm to the Everglades is completely remediated, said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. This political stunt was a failure by every measure our government failed the Everglades and failed taxpayers, and history will remember.Alligator Alcatraz is a stain on our nation and a blight on the Everglades, and I look forward to watching this depraved facility bite the dust, said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. Were not going to let Florida and the Trump administration off the hook for the irreparable harm theyve done to Big Cypress and the critically endangered creatures who live there. Now its time to push for full restoration and protection of this site so a travesty like this never happens again. ...read more read less