By MIKE SCHNEIDER and CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge has put a stop to further expansion of the immigration detention center built in the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” ordering that its operations wind down within two months.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami wrote in her 82-page order late Thursday that Florida officials never sufficiently explained why an immigration detention center needed to be located in the middle of sensitive wetlands cherished by environmentalists and outdoors people.

She also said that state and federal authorities never undertook an environmental review as required by federal law before Florida officials hastily built the detention camp which they championed as a model for President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. That failure adversely affected the “recreational, conservational, and aesthetic interests” of the environmental groups and Miccosukee Tribe which brought the lawsuit, she said.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday reacted to the ruling, saying he would not be deterred by “an activist judge.”

“We knew this would be something that would likely happen,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Panama City. “We will respond accordingly. You either have a country or you don’t.”

Here’s what to know about the situation and what might come next:

What did the judge say?

Williams said she expected the population at the facility to drop within 60 days by transferring detainees to other facilities. Once that happens, fencing, lighting, gas, waste, generators and other equipment should be removed from the site. No additional detainees can be sent to the facility, and no more additional lighting, fencing, paving, buildings or tents can be added to the camp. The only repairs that can be made to the existing facility are for safety purposes. However, the judge allowed for the existing dormitories and housing to stay in place as long as they are maintained to prevent deterioration or damage.

A sign marks the entrance to the Baker Correctional Institution, Sanderson, Fla., Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

Here’s where detainees might end up

During court hearings, lawyers said at one point there were fewer than 1,000 detainees at the facility, which state officials had planned to hold up to 3,000 people. Although the detainees could be sent to other facilities out of state, Florida has other immigration detention centers including the Krome North Processing Center in Miami, the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach and the Baker County Detention Center managed by the local sheriff’s office. Earlier this month, DeSantis announced plans for a second state-initiated immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison about 43 miles west of downtown Jacksonville. State officials say it is expected to hold 1,300 immigration detention beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000 beds.

How does this decision impact the other “Alligator Alcatraz” lawsuit?

Civil rights lawyers had filed a second lawsuit over practices at “Alligator Alcatraz,” claiming that detainees weren’t able to meet with their attorneys privately and were denied access to immigration courts. Another federal judge in Miami dismissed part of the lawsuit earlier this week after the Trump administration designated the Krome North Processing Center as the court for their cases to be heard. The judge moved the remaining counts of the case from Florida’s southern district to the middle district. Eunice Cho, the lead attorney for the detainees, said Friday that the decision in the environmental lawsuit won’t have an impact on the civil rights case since there could be detainees at the facility for the next two months.

“Our case addresses the lack of access to counsel for people detained at Alligator Alcatraz, and there are still people detained there,” Cho said.

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Status of the hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts

No one has said publicly what will happen to the hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts involved in the facility. DeSantis’ administration in July signed contracts with private vendors to pay at least $245 million to set up and run the center, according to a public database. That amount — to be fronted by Florida taxpayers — was in line with the $450 million a year officials have estimated the facility was going to cost. The governor’s office and the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Friday didn’t respond to questions about whether Florida taxpayers would still be on the hook for the contracts if the facility is shuttered.

Is this a final decision?

No. This case will continue to be litigated. The state of Florida filed a notice of appeal Thursday night, shortly after the ruling was issued. As its name suggests, a preliminary injunction is only an initial action taken by a judge to prevent harm while a lawsuit makes its way through the court process and when it appears that one side has a good chance of succeeding based on the merits of the case.

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social

Manhattan prosecutors accused former Eric Adams aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin of using her influence to benefit landlords with business before the city in exchange for bribes and gifts.

Mayor Eric Adams and former adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin at a City Hall press conference in 2023 ( Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.)

In a wide-ranging indictment Thursday, Manhattan prosecutors accused former Eric Adams aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin of four counts of bribery, including several instances of her using her influence to benefit landlords with business before the city in exchange for bribes and gifts.

In the first count, prosecutors alleged that Lewis-Martin helped property owner Tian Ji Li secure leases with New York City to house asylum seekers, over the objections of a city employee who said a site was “problematic.” Lewis-Martin and her son also allegedly expedited decisions and approvals by the New York Fire Department and Department of Buildings for a karaoke club in Queens. Li paid her son $50,000 for the efforts and threw “lavish” parties for Lewis-Martin. “I want you all to go back to the sites for TJ Li,” Lewis-Martin told Hamilton, according to the indictment. “I need those done…whatever site TJ wants, I need him to get them. Because that’s our f***ing people.”

Lewis-Martin also intervened, the indictment said, on behalf of developer Yechiel Landau to help his Red Hook affordable housing project jump the line at the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD). Lewis-Martin pressured Deputy Mayor for Housing Maria Torres-Springer and HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrion, who resisted—but the first part of the project closed in December 2024. “We gotta get that place [HPD] under control, so when we f***ing tell them something, we expect them to make that s*** move,” Lewis-Martin wrote in a text message to Landau. In exchange, Landau paid for and ran renovations at Lewis-Martin’s house and the home of Jesse Hamilton, the former deputy commissioner for real estate services at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

Finally, Lewis-Martin intervened to secure permits for a residential renovation for an unnamed co-conspirator in exchange for $10,000 worth of seafood catering for events at Gracie Mansion and City Hall in spring and summer 2024, the indictment alleged.

Prosecutors said that Lewis-Martin and her son received over $75,000 in benefits, $50,000 of which was direct kickbacks of taxpayer money from migrant shelter contracts. Both have pleaded not guilty, according to the New York Times.  

Here’s what else happened this week—

ICYMI, from City Limits:

Incentives for landlords to hold units for CityFHEPS voucher holders will continue, at least temporarily, after a court appearance Thursday where lawyers for the City of New York stated their intention to send the rule change through an official public review process. The city wants to do away with the bonus payments in an effort to rein in CityFHEPS spending, though advocates say it that would make it even harder for people to use their vouchers.

NYCHA is looking to partner with more private developers to create new housing near its campuses.

Homeless New Yorkers are disproportionately vulnerable to increasingly hot weather, says one outreach group looking to provide refuge. “The people we serve are often the ones who feel the impact of these changes most, and they can’t escape it.”

ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:

Monthly eviction numbers in the city’s housing courts have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to Gothamist.

Tenants at Carnegie House, dubbed “the only remaining affordable building” on Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row, are facing a 450 percent rent hike, the New York Post reports.

Trump’s U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will now only offer its materials in English, a move that critics say will make it harder for non-English speakers to access affordable housing and other needed services, according to the New York Times.

Just how many apartments would be subject to a rent freeze if mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani gets his wish? City & State breaks down the numbers on the city’s stabilized and non-stabilized housing stock.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Patrick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

The post Adams’ Official Accused of Taking Bribes to Help Projects Jump the Line, and What Else Happened This Week In Housing appeared first on City Limits.

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press

China’s Pop Mart says it is rolling out a mini version of its popular Labubu plush toys this month, along with a new long-fur version of the toothy little monster.

The Labubu, by artist and illustrator Kasing Lung, first appeared with pointed ears and pointy teeth, in three picture books inspired by Nordic mythology in 2015.

In 2019 Lung struck a deal with Pop Mart, a company that caters to toy connoisseurs and influencers, to sell Labubu figurines. But it wasn’t until Pop Mart started selling Labubu plush toys on key rings in 2023 that the toothy monsters suddenly seemed to be everywhere.

This image provided by Pop Mart shows Pop Mart’s Labubu Rock The Universe (Pop Mart via AP)

Pop Mart said Friday that the mini-sized Labubu vinyl plush pendant, which is part of The Monsters Pin For Love series, will be available in various colors corresponding to letters of the alphabet. They will cost $22.99 each.

The series also includes 30 letter pendant blind boxes, each with a unique pattern and Monsters charm. They will be priced at $18.99 a piece.

In addition, Pop Mart is launching the Rock the Universe vinyl plush doll, which is part of The Monsters Big Into Energy Series. The plush, which will have a pearl-and-alloy heart necklace, will be the first of the Monsters to have long fur and uses a specialized dyeing technique that ensures no two figures are exactly alike. The dolls will cost $114.99 each.

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All of the new products will be available starting Aug. 29 on Pop Mart’s website either for in-store pickup or shipping. They will also be available on the company’s app and its official TikTok accounts.

Labubu has been a bonanza for Pop Mart. Its revenue more than doubled in 2024 to 13.04 billion yuan ($1.81 billion), thanks in part to its elvish monster. Revenue from Pop Mart’s plush toys soared more than 1,200% in 2024, nearly 22% of its overall revenue, according to the company’s annual report.

Earlier this week Pop Mart reported that its profit attributable to shareholders skyrocketed almost 400% for the first six months of the year. Revenue jumped more than 200% to 13.88 billion yuan ($1.93 billion). Revenue for the Asia Pacific region surged more than 250%, while revenue for the Americas soared more than 1,000%.

By STEVE PEOPLES and JILL COLVIN

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump stood among several hundred law enforcement officers, National Guard troops and federal agents at a U.S. Park Police operations center in one of Washington, D.C.’s most dangerous neighborhoods. As the cameras rolled, he offered a stark message about crime, an issue he’s been hammering for decades, as he thanked them for their efforts.

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“We’re not playing games,” he said. “We’re going to make it safe. And we’re going to then go on to other places.”

The Republican president is proudly promoting the work of roughly 2,000 National Guard troops in the city, loaned by allied governors from at least six Republican-led states. They’re in place to confront what Trump describes as an out-of-control crime wave in the Democratic-run city, though violent crime in Washington, like dozens of cities led by Democrats, has been down significantly since a pandemic high.

Trump and his allies are confident that his stunning decision to dispatch troops to a major American city is a big political winner almost certain to remind voters of why they elected him last fall.

Democrats say this is a fight they’re eager to have.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, an Army veteran, cast Trump’s move as a dangerous political stunt designed to distract the American people from his inability to address persistent inflation, rising energy prices and major health insurance cuts, among other major policy challenges.

“I’m deeply offended, as someone who’s actually worn the uniform, that he would use the lives of these men and women and the activation of these men and women as political pawns,” Moore told The Associated Press.

Trump’s extraordinary federal power grab comes as the term-limited president has threatened to send troops to other American cities led by Democrats, even as voters voice increasing concern about his authoritarian tendencies. And it could be a factor for both sides in elections in Virginia and New Jersey this fall — and next year’s more consequential midterms.

Inside the White House strategy

The president and White House see Trump’s decision to take over the D.C. police department as a political boon and have been eager to publicize the efforts.

The White House offered a livestream of Trump’s Thursday evening appearance, and on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a surprise visit to Union Station, D.C.’s busy transit hub, to thank members of the National Guard over Shake Shack burgers.

Each morning, Trump’s press office distributes statistics outlining the previous night’s law enforcement actions, including total arrests and how many of those people are in the country illegally.

President Donald Trump speaks with members of law enforcement and National Guard soldiers, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The strategy echoes Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, which has often forced Democrats to come to the defense of people living in the country illegally, including some who have committed serious crimes.

A White House official, speaking on background to discuss internal deliberations, dismissed concerns about perceptions of federal overreach in Washington, saying public safety is a fundamental requirement and a priority for residents.

Trump defended his efforts during an interview on “The Todd Starnes Show” Thursday.

“Because I sent in people to stop crime, they said, ‘He’s a dictator.’ The real people, though, even Democrats, are calling me and saying, ‘It’s unbelievable’ how much it has helped,” he said.

The White House hopes to use its actions in D.C. as a test case to inspire changes in other cities, though Trump has legal power to intervene in Washington that he doesn’t have elsewhere because the city is under partial federal control.

“Everyday Americans who support commonsense policies would deem the removal of more than 600 dangerous criminals from the streets of our nation’s capital a huge success,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers. “The Democrats continue to be wildly unpopular because they oppose efforts to stop violent crime and protect law-abiding citizens.”

Democrats lean in

Moore, Maryland’s Democratic governor, suggested a dark motivation behind Trump’s approach, which is focused almost exclusively on cities with large minority populations led by Democratic mayors of color.

“Once again, we are seeing how these incredibly dangerous and biased tropes are being used about these communities by someone who is not willing to step foot in them, but is willing to stand in the Oval Office and defend them,” Moore said.

Even before Trump called the National Guard to Washington, Democratic mayors across the country have been touting their success in reducing violent crime.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, who leads the Democratic Mayors Association, noted that over half of the 70 largest Democratic-led cities in the country have seen violent crime decrease so far this year.

People rally against President Donald Trump’s use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops along the U street corridor in northwest Washington Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

“He’s stoking racial division and stoking fear and chaos,” Bibb said. “We need someone who wants to be a collaborator, not a dictator.”

Democratic strategists acknowledge that Trump’s GOP has enjoyed a significant advantage in recent years on the issues of crime and immigration — issues Trump has long sought to connect. But as Democratic officials push back against the federal takeover in Washington, party strategists are offering cautious optimism that Trump’s tactics will backfire.

“This is an opportunity for the party to go on offense on an issue that has plagued us for a long time,” said veteran Democratic strategist Daniel Wessel. “The facts are on our side.”

A closer look at the numbers

FBI statistics released this month show murder and nonnegligent manslaughter in the U.S. in 2024 fell nearly 15% from a year earlier, continuing a decline that’s been seen since a coronavirus pandemic-era crime spike.

Meanwhile, recent public polling shows that Republicans have enjoyed an advantage over Democrats on the issue of crime.

A CNN/SSRS poll conducted in May found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults said the Republican Party’s views were closer to their own on crime and policing, while 3 in 10 said they were more aligned with Democrats’ views. About 3 in 10 said neither party reflected their opinions. Other polls conducted in the past few years found a similar gap.

Trump also had a significant edge over Democrat Kamala Harris on the issue in the 2024 election. About half of voters said Trump was better able to handle crime, while about 4 in 10 said this about Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the American electorate.

At the same time, Americans have expressed more concern about the scope of presidential power since Trump took office for a second time in January.

An AP-NORC poll conducted in April found that about half of U.S. adults said the president has “too much” power in the way the U.S. government operates these days, up from 32% in March 2024.

The unusual military presence in a U.S. city, which featured checkpoints across Washington staffed in some cases by masked federal agents, injected a sense of fear and chaos into daily life for some people in the nation’s capital.

At least one day care center was closed Thursday as childcare staff feared the military action, which has featured a surge in immigration enforcement, while local officials raised concerns about next week’s public school openings.

Moore said he would block any push by Trump to send the National Guard into Baltimore.

“I have not seen anything or any conditions on the ground that I think would justify the mobilization of our National Guard,” he said. “They think they’re winning the political argument. I don’t give a s—- about the political argument.”

AP writers Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed.