ORLANDO, Fla. —

A federal appeals court panel on Thursday put on hold a lower court judge’s order to wind down operations of the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

The three-judge panel in Atlanta decided by a 2-1 vote to stay the federal judge’s order pending the outcome of an appeal, saying it was in the public interest.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami issued a preliminary injunction last month ordering operations at the facility to be wound down by the end of October , with detainees transferred to other facilities and equipment and fencing removed.

Williams’ decision was issued in response to a lawsuit brought by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Miccosukee Tribe, who accused the

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