A federal judge has ordered a halt to the construction of an immigrant detention facility known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ for two weeks, per a ruling issued Thursday. The facility, championed by President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, sparked national controversy over its potential environmental impact.
Behind the Ruling
District Judge Kathleen Williams, an Obama-appointee who received unanimous Senate consent in 2011, has issued a temporary restraining order barring the state government from installing new lighting, infrastructure, pavement, filling and fencing for two weeks’ time. Additionally, there can be no more excavation in that period.
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is designed to be a sort of pop-up detention center within the Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida. Its intended function will be to house up to 5,000 migrants as they await deportation from the United States. DeSantis and Trump’s administrations have worked together to quickly construct the camp, and in the months since its inception it’s become one of the central talking points in the wider debate over U.S. immigration policy.
The facility was the subject of a lawsuit filed by several plaintiffs, including Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians according to NPR. These groups allege that the facility was greenlit before proper public feedback could be collected or an environmental impact assessment.
The defendants included Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and acting I.C.E. Director Todd Lyons. Their representation argued against the notion that they were required by federal law to collect public input and create an environmental impact statement before construction. They contested that federal law didn’t apply, since the project was being constructed and run by Florida’s state government. Williams rejected that argument.
During the hearing, the state was requested to hold off on construction as the matter was litigated. Upon learning that they had not stopped, Williams issued her 14-day halt order. Meanwhile, existing day-to-day detention operations at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ can still legally continue. However, it could hamper any plans the state may have had to bring in an expanded number of migrants in the next two weeks.
Reactions
“We’re pleased that the judge saw the urgent need to put a pause on additional construction, and we look forward to advancing our ultimate goal of protecting the unique and imperiled Everglades ecosystem from further damage caused by this mass detention facility,” said Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples.
Champions of the project, such as Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, have resisted notions that the camp will be an environmental detriment to the Reserve. Uthmeier in particular has run afoul of Williams before – she held him in contempt of court in June for instructing law enforcement to ignore her placing a hold on a state immigration law.
“Operations at Alligator Alcatraz are ongoing and deportations are continuing,” Gov. DeSantis said on his X account on Thursday. This has been the governor’s only public reaction to the ruling as of Friday afternoon. His communications director, Alex Lanfranconi, called Williams ‘an activist judge’ in his own public statement.
“[The ruling] is another attempt to prevent the president from fulfilling the American people’s mandate for mass deportations,” said Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin as reported by Axios. “These environmental activists and activist judge don’t care about the invasion of our country facilitated by the Biden administration, but the American people do.”
