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A federal appeals court on Thursday halted a lower court judge’s order to end operations indefinitely at the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center built in the Florida Everglades .

The panel voted 2-1 to stay the judge’s order pending the outcome of an appeal, allowing the facility to continue holding migrant detainees – for now.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a preliminary injunction blocking Florida from further expanding the detention center and ordering operations to dwindle by the end of October. The judge also ordered the state to transfer detainees to other facilities and to remove equipment and fencing.

The rulings came after a lawsuit brought by Friends of the Everglades, the

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