A federal court in Miami has closed four days of testimony over whether to halt construction and potentially shut down Florida’s controversial immigrant detention complex known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who last week ordered a 14-day freeze on additional building at the Everglades site, said on Wednesday she will rule before the temporary order ends on Aug. 21. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe argue the tent-based facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act because federal agencies failed to study its impact on sensitive wetlands that underpin multibillion-dollar Everglades restoration efforts. Expert witnesses told the court that at least 20 acres of asphalt have already been poured, increasing runoff that could harm endangered Florida panthers, wood storks and other protected species. State and federal lawyers counter that Florida alone is responsible for the project, meaning no federal review is required. David Kerner, head of the state’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, testified the remote location eases overcrowding elsewhere and that Washington does not dictate where migrants are held. The center opened in July on a disused airport runway and currently houses fewer than 1,000 detainees, with plans to expand to 3,000. Detainees and a separate civil-rights lawsuit describe unsanitary conditions, but Williams is focusing narrowly on environmental claims. The state estimates annual operating costs at about $450 million. The case places Governor Ron DeSantis and the Trump administration under renewed scrutiny as they seek to make the $450 million complex a model for future detention sites. If Williams grants a preliminary injunction, construction and possibly operations could remain frozen indefinitely, complicating broader plans to expand immigration detention capacity nationwide.