The fate of a makeshift immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” hangs in the balance, as a federal judge considers whether building on sensitive wetlands violated environmental laws.

A federal judge is deciding whether to close or keep open a detention site in the Everglades, which environmentalists and the Miccosukee Tribe claim violates the National Environmental Policy Act and threatens endangered species and tribal homelands.

In a legal filing Wednesday, detainees at Alligator Alcatraz and their lawyers allege the tent camp on an airstrip in the Everglades has become a squalid place with limited access

A decision about halting construction and operation at Alligator Alcatraz is expected before the end of the day.

An alligator made a meal out of an invasive Burmese python at Shark Valley in the Florida Everglades, near Alligator Alcatraz, an ICE detention center

A federal judge in Miami will hear arguments on Monday in a case over the controversial immigration detention center in the middle of the Florida Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz."

With Alligator Alcatraz running in the Everglades, the governor will turn an underused state prison into a second facility for those awaiting deportation.

While a federal judge considers whether to shut down a detention facility that Donald Trump’s administration and Florida officials are calling “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades, DeSantis announced Thursday the state is moving forward with “Deportation Depot.”

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who has objected to the facility and asked for access to "monitor" it, said she "welcome (d) the court’s decision to halt construction at Alligator Alcatraz — an overdue and necessary step."

A state-run detention facility for migrants has opened in the Florida Everglades. Alligator Alcatraz — that is the official name — was assembled in eight days and opened on July 1. President Donald Trump visited the remote site on opening day, built at an old runway near the Miami-Dade and Collier county line.

Environmentalists and the Miccosukee Tribe are urging U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams to issue a preliminary injunction halting operations and construction at the site.