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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Judge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida’s ‘Alligator
Alcatraz’ detention center
By Associated Press
Updated:
4:59 AM EDT, Fri August 8, 2025
Source: AP
A federal judge on Thursday ordered a two-week halt to construction at
an immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed
“Alligator Alcatraz” as she considers whether it violates
environmental laws.
The facility was quickly built two months ago at a lightly used,
single-runway training airport and can hold up to 3,000 detainees in
temporary tent structures. The site was continuing to be built out, but
the order by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams temporarily bars the
installation of any new industrial-style lighting, as well as any
paving, filling, excavating or fencing. The order also prohibits any
other site expansion, including placing or erecting any additional
buildings, tents, dormitories or other residential or administrative
facilities.
The order doesn’t include any restrictions on law enforcement or
immigration enforcement activity at the center, which is currently
holding hundreds of detainees. Williams issued the temporary
restraining order during a hearing and then followed up with a written
order later Thursday.
Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe have asked Williams to
issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further
construction. The suit argues that the project threatens
environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants
and animals and would reverse billions of dollars’ worth of
environmental restoration.
“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 Eve
Samples, executive director at Friends of the Everglades.
A spokesperson for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis decried the ruling but
said it “will have no impact on immigration enforcement in
Florida.”
“Alligator Alcatraz will remain operational, continuing to serve as a
force multiplier to enhance deportation efforts,” spokesperson Alex
Lanfranconi said in a statement.
The order is temporary, since arguments in the case are still pending
Plaintiffs presented witnesses and Thursday in support of the
injunction, while attorneys for the state and federal government were
scheduled to present next week.
Following Thursday’s testimony, Paul Schwiep, an attorney for the
environmental groups, asked Williams to issue a temporary restraining
order that would at least prevent any new construction at the site
while the preliminary injunction was argued.
Williams asked Florida attorney Jesse Panuccio if the state would agree
to halt construction so that she wouldn’t need to issue the
restraining order. She pointed out that anything built at the site
would likely remain there permanently, regardless of how the case was
ultimately decided.
Panuccio said he couldn’t guarantee that the state would stop all
work.
This sparked an hour-long hearing about the temporary restraining
order, which will be in place for the next two weeks while the ongoing
preliminary injunction hearing continues. Temporary restraining orders
are meant to maintain the status quo during a legal dispute for a short
period of time, while preliminary injunctions are generally issued
after a longer hearing and last until the final resolution of the case.
The legal fight centers on federal vs. state control of the site
The crux of the plaintiffs’ argument is that the detention facility
violates the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal
agencies to assess the environmental effects of major construction
projects.
Panuccio said during the hearing that although the detention center
would be holding federal detainees, the construction and operation of
the facility is entirely under the state of Florida, meaning the NEPA
review wouldn’t apply.
Schwiep said the purpose of the facility is for immigration
enforcement, which is exclusively a federal function. He said the
facility wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the federal government’s
desire for a facility to hold detainees.
Williams said Thursday that the detention facility was, at a minimum, a
joint partnership between the state and federal government.
Christopher McVoy, a soil physicist, hydrologist and wetlands
ecologist, testified for the plaintiffs on Thursday that at least 20
acres of asphalt have been added to the site since the Florida
Department of Emergency Management began construction, based on a tour
that he took of the facility in June, just days before it opened, and
subsequent aerial photos of the site. Tents, trailers and other heavy
equipment have also been moved to the airport, which previously had
just a few small structures.
Dillon Reio, a licensed professional geologist, testified that the new
paving could lead to an increase in water runoff to the adjacent
wetlands and spread harmful chemicals into the Everglades.
A second lawsuit alleges violations of detainees’ rights
The lawsuit in Miami against federal and state authorities is one of
two legal challenges to the South Florida detention center, which was
built more than a month ago by the state of Florida on an isolated
airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County.
brought by civil rights groups says detainees’ constitutional rights
are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are
being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has
canceled bond hearings. A hearing in that case is scheduled for August
18.
In a court filing in the civil rights lawsuit on Thursday, the state of
Florida said that detainees have been allowed to meet with their
lawyers for three weeks at the detention center, which opened July 3,
despite some initial delays due to logistical challenges in having
private contractors build infrastructure and install equipment. Since
July 15, the state has granted every request for a detainee to meet
with an attorney, it said.
“More meetings are taking place every day and there have been no
complaints,” according to the filing.
Construction, maintenance and operation of the detention center are
done by the state of Florida, “without involvement of the federal
government,” though the state is granted authority over the detainees
through an intergovernmental agreement with federal agencies, the court
filing said.
Under the 55-year-old federal environmental law, federal agencies
should have examined how the detention center’s construction would
impact the environment, identified ways to minimize the impact and
followed other procedural rules such as allowing public comment,
according to the environmental groups and the tribe.
It makes no difference that the detention center was built by the state
of Florida, since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the
lawsuit said.
Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week asked Williams to
dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was
filed in . Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County,
Florida’s southern district is the wrong venue for the lawsuit since
the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is
in the state’s middle district, they said.
Williams had on that argument.
The lawsuits were being heard as DeSantis′ administration apparently
was preparing to build at a Florida National Guard training center in
north Florida. At least one contract has been awarded for what’s
labeled in state records as the “North Detention Facility.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
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