Judge bars Florida from bringing more detainees to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
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Judge orders halt to new construction at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center
A federal judge orders a halt to new construction at “Alligator Alcatraz” Environmental groups say the facility is endangering the Everglades and its wildlife. Florida, which is partnering with the federal government in the building of the facility, immediately filed an appeal. The facility is located 37 miles (60 km) west of Miami in a vast subtropical wetland that is home to alligators, crocodiles and pythons. The complex in southern Florida at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport is estimated to cost $450 million annually.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Thursday ordered a halt to new construction at “Alligator Alcatraz” and barred bringing more detainees to the migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades touted by President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams also ordered the removal of some equipment and supporting infrastructure at the remote facility.
The judge in Miami, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, sided with environmental groups who say the facility is endangering the Everglades and its wildlife.
Florida, which is partnering with the federal government in the building of the facility, immediately filed an appeal.
The order said that authorities must remove “all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles that were installed to support this project,” within 60 days. It added that some fencing and additional lighting that had already been installed must also be removed.
The environmental groups that mounted the legal challenge welcomed Thursday’s ruling.
The facility is located 37 miles (60 km) west of Miami in a vast subtropical wetland that is home to alligators, crocodiles and pythons – imagery that the White House leveraged to show its determination to remove migrants it says were wrongly allowed to stay in the U.S. under former President Joe Biden.
The complex in southern Florida at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport is estimated to cost $450 million annually and could house some 5,000 people, officials estimate.
The Department of Homeland Security had set aside funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s shelter and services program to cover a “large part” of the cost of the detention center.
Two environmental groups filed a legal motion in June seeking to block further construction at the detention site, saying it violated federal, state and local environmental laws.
For several years, “every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades,” the judge wrote in Thursday’s order.
“This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises.”
Some local leaders also objected to the construction of the facility, which has drawn crowds of demonstrators.
Trump, who has toured the site, has dismissed the environmental concerns, saying the detention facility was a template for what he would like to do nationwide.
The Republican president, who has a home in Florida, has for a decade made hardline immigration and border policies central to his political agenda.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; additional reporting by Nate Raymond and Mike Scarcella; Editing by Frank McGurty and Kate Mayberry)
Judge orders halt to new construction at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center
Environmental groups had filed legal challenge saying detention center’s construction violated law. Facility is located 37 miles (60 km) west of Miami in a vast subtropical wetland that is home to alligators, crocodiles and pythons. Environmental groups that mounted the legal challenge welcomed Thursday’s ruling. The complex in southern Florida at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport is estimated to cost $450 million annually and could house some 5,000 people, officials estimate. The White House leveraged imagery of the facility to show its determination to remove migrants it says were wrongly allowed to stay in the U.S. under former President Joe Biden.
Summary Environmental groups had filed legal challenge saying detention center’s construction violated law
Trump previously visited the site of the detention center
Facility’s construction had drawn protests
Florida immediately appealed Thursday’s decision
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams also ordered the removal of some equipment and supporting infrastructure at the remote facility.
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The judge in Miami, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, sided with environmental groups who say the facility is endangering the Everglades and its wildlife.
Florida, which is partnering with the federal government in the building of the facility, immediately filed an appeal.
The order said that authorities must remove “all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles that were installed to support this project,” within 60 days. It added that some fencing and additional lighting that had already been installed must also be removed.
The environmental groups that mounted the legal challenge welcomed Thursday’s ruling.
The facility is located 37 miles (60 km) west of Miami in a vast subtropical wetland that is home to alligators, crocodiles and pythons – imagery that the White House leveraged to show its determination to remove migrants it says were wrongly allowed to stay in the U.S. under former President Joe Biden.
The complex in southern Florida at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport is estimated to cost $450 million annually and could house some 5,000 people, officials estimate.
The Department of Homeland Security had set aside funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s shelter and services program to cover a “large part” of the cost of the detention center.
Two environmental groups filed a legal motion in June seeking to block further construction at the detention site, saying it violated federal, state and local environmental laws.
For several years, “every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades,” the judge wrote in Thursday’s order.
“This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises.”
Some local leaders also objected to the construction of the facility, which has drawn crowds of demonstrators.
Trump, who has toured the site, has dismissed the environmental concerns, saying the detention facility was a template for what he would like to do nationwide.
The Republican president, who has a home in Florida, has for a decade made hardline immigration and border policies central to his political agenda.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; additional reporting by Nate Raymond and Mike Scarcella; Editing by Frank McGurty and Kate Mayberry
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Federal judge bars transfer of new detainees to Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Aug. 7, which put a stop to new construction and any additional infrastructure at the facility. On Aug. 21, she doubled down on the restraining order, saying the state and federal government should pack everything up at Alligator Alcatraz and prepare to shut down. The ruling stems from a June 27 lawsuit filed by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. The defendants in the case include the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and Miami-Dade County. Another legal case focusing on plaintiffs’ legal and civil rights was transferred to a different court while also declaring part of the lawsuit moot, a federal judge said last week. The case now heads to the Middle District of Florida to reach the merits of plaintiffs’ claims under the First Amendment, the judge wrote in a 47-page order.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a temporary restraining order on Aug. 7, which put a stop to new construction and any additional infrastructure at the facility for two weeks. Late in the evening on Aug. 21, she doubled down on the restraining order, saying the state and federal government should pack everything up at Alligator Alcatraz and prepare to shut down the facility.
This preliminary injunction will last until the trial is complete.
“This is a landmark victory for the Everglades and countless Americans who believe this imperiled wilderness should be protected, not exploited,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “It sends a clear message that environmental laws must be respected by leaders at the highest levels of our government — and there are consequences for ignoring them.”
The ruling stems from a June 27 lawsuit filed by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and joined by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. The defendants in the case include the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and Miami-Dade County.
“This ruling affirms what we argued in court — that the government can’t just build something in the middle of the Everglades and the Big Cypress preserve with no environmental review, and no public input,” said Tania Galloni, managing attorney for the Florida office of Earthjustice. “This is why we have environmental laws — to protect the wetlands and ecosystems we all depend on from illegal development.”
Others said the detainment facility is a clear violation of major federal laws put in place to protect wildernesses like the Big Cypress and Everglades National Park.
“The state and federal government paved over 20 acres of open land, built a parking lot for 1,200 cars and 3,000 detainees, placed miles of fencing and high-intensity lighting on site and moved thousands of detainees and contractors onto land in the heart of the Big Cypress National Preserve, all in flagrant violation of environmental law,” said Paul Schwiep, counsel for Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Construction of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
“Alligator Alcatraz” sprang to existence early this year, after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on social media that a detention facility would be constructed at the old jetport in rural eastern Collier County.
That facility has been managed and maintained by Miami-Dade County for decades but was taken over by the state when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency, which allowed the construction of the center to bypass staff review, public comment, and permitting.
Typically, a facility proposed within the boundaries of a National Park Service preserve must go through extensive federal review, a process that can take years.
“Alligator Alcatraz” was up and running in a matter of days, by July 2.
Another legal case was transferred to a different court
In another case focusing on plaintiffs’ legal and civil rights, U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz ruled Aug. 18 that the matter should move to a different court while also declaring part of the lawsuit moot.
At the heart of the case was whether the government had violated detainees’ rights to due process and legal counsel. Civil rights attorneys had said the remote Everglades facility made it nearly impossible for immigrants to speak confidentially with lawyers or even find out which immigration court could hear their cases.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys filed suit in the Southern District of Florida, which includes Miami-Dade County, though state and federal officials argued that it should have been filed in the Middle District of Florida, which includes Collier County.
In his 47-page order, Ruiz agreed, transferring the case to the middle district. He also dismissed the immigration-court allegations in the lawsuit, saying they were moot after a federal decision that judges at Krome North Processing Service Center would handle the detainees’ cases.
The case now heads to “a sister court in the Middle District of Florida to reach the merits of plaintiffs’ remaining claims under the First Amendment,” Ruiz wrote.
Contributing: Amy Bennett Williams, Fort Myers News-Press
Judge Orders Halt to New Construction at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center
A federal judge orders a halt to new construction at “Alligator Alcatraz” Environmental groups say the facility is endangering the Everglades and its wildlife. Florida, which is partnering with the federal government in the building of the facility, immediately filed an appeal. The facility is located 37 miles (60 km) west of Miami in a vast subtropical wetland that is home to alligators, crocodiles and pythons. The complex in southern Florida at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport is estimated to cost $450 million annually.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Thursday ordered a halt to new construction at “Alligator Alcatraz” and barred bringing more detainees to the migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades touted by President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams also ordered the removal of some equipment and supporting infrastructure at the remote facility.
The judge in Miami, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, sided with environmental groups who say the facility is endangering the Everglades and its wildlife.
Florida, which is partnering with the federal government in the building of the facility, immediately filed an appeal.
The order said that authorities must remove “all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles that were installed to support this project,” within 60 days. It added that some fencing and additional lighting that had already been installed must also be removed.
The environmental groups that mounted the legal challenge welcomed Thursday’s ruling.
The facility is located 37 miles (60 km) west of Miami in a vast subtropical wetland that is home to alligators, crocodiles and pythons – imagery that the White House leveraged to show its determination to remove migrants it says were wrongly allowed to stay in the U.S. under former President Joe Biden.
The complex in southern Florida at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport is estimated to cost $450 million annually and could house some 5,000 people, officials estimate.
The Department of Homeland Security had set aside funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s shelter and services program to cover a “large part” of the cost of the detention center.
Two environmental groups filed a legal motion in June seeking to block further construction at the detention site, saying it violated federal, state and local environmental laws.
For several years, “every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades,” the judge wrote in Thursday’s order.
“This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises.”
Some local leaders also objected to the construction of the facility, which has drawn crowds of demonstrators.
Trump, who has toured the site, has dismissed the environmental concerns, saying the detention facility was a template for what he would like to do nationwide.
The Republican president, who has a home in Florida, has for a decade made hardline immigration and border policies central to his political agenda.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; additional reporting by Nate Raymond and Mike Scarcella; Editing by Frank McGurty and Kate Mayberry)