Why the Whole Alligator Alcatraz Thing Is Somehow Worse Than It Sounds

OA1180 - We begin with some much-needed reminders that good things are still happening and the rule of law is still (mostly) holding on before turning to a recent Trump executive order on homelessness which reads like something out of a (not very good) Batman movie. Jenessa explains how this development fits into the history of long-term institutionalization of vulnerable and unhoused people in the US as we work through what this thing is actually trying to do. In an unfortunately not-at-all-unrelated story, Matt then breaks down the situation with Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” (aka “Gator Gitmo”), the pending challenges to this completely new (and totally illegal) approach to state-based immigration detention, and where this is all going.

Finally, in today’s footnote: has ChatGPT finally made its first hallucinatory appearance in a judicial opinion? We investigate not just one but two recent instances of federal judges who have now joined the many lawyers caught using AI to do their homework.

• “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” The White House (7/25/25)

• Complaint in Friends of the Everglades v. Noem, filed 6/27/25

• Complaint in C-M. v Noem, filed 7/16/25

• Defendants’ Unopposed Motion to Clarify in Mississippi Association of Educators et al v. Board of Trustees (7/22/25)

• Judge Henry Wingate’s order in Mississippi Association of Educators v. Board of Trustees declining to clarify decision of July 20, 2025 (8/1/25)

• Defendant’s letter to Judge Julien Neals in In re CorMedix Securities Litigation (7/22/25)

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