Topline
A federal judge ordered authorities to temporarily stop construction of a Florida-run immigration detention facility on a remote airstrip in the Everglades on Thursday, reports say—though the facility can remain open and continue holding detainees.
Key Facts
The move came just a day after the judge heard arguments over whether to halt construction due to potential violations of environmental laws.
The order—which U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued at a hearing—stipulated that construction workers at the detention center will be prohibited from adding new filling, paving or infrastructure for the next two weeks.
The decision comes amid a now monthslong lawsuit filed by environmental groups and the Miccoshukee Tribe that alleges the Department of Homeland Security, Florida’s Division of Emergency Management and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement permitted the site’s construction “without conducting any environmental reviews.”
Key Background
Two nonprofits—Friends of the Everglades and the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity—sued DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons and Florida’s emergency management director Kevin Guthrie on June 27, claiming that the immigration facility was built “without public notice” and “without compliance with of federal statutes,” including the Endangered Species Act. The suit also names Miami-Dade County as a defendant. Leaders of the Miccoshukee Tribe, who joined the lawsuit on July 30, had accused the facility of sitting on or near sacred Indigenous lands, with the center about a 20-minute drive away from the main Miccosukee reservation. The plaintiffs claim the facility threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands and the lives of protected plants and animals at the site, and are asking Williams to issue a preliminary injunction to cease operations and further construction. An attorney for the environmental groups also asked Williams to issue a temporary restraining order that would prevent construction while the injunction was argued, the Associated Press reported. Williams said that regardless of how the case is decided, anything built at the site would likely remain there permanently.
What Do We Know About ‘alligator Alcatraz’?
The Everglades facility, which cost about $450 million, was built on an abandoned airport facility owned by Miami-Dade County in just eight days, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis, and is composed of large white tents and rows of bunk beds with a capacity of up to 5,000 detainees. It was nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in a June 19 announcement video on X, saying “Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide” in reference to the facility’s isolation and surrounding wildlife. The Miami Herald reported a list of 700 current and prospective detainees in July, more than 250 of whom have no criminal convictions or pending charges despite claims from President Donald Trump, DeSantis and Noem that the detention center was built for “deranged psychopaths.” In interviews with the Associated Press, detained immigrants at the facility have said the cells were like “zoo cages” and described them as “inhuman,” with one detainee saying each cell is overrun with mosquitos, crickets and frogs. A green card holder told the AP detainees can’t bathe and that the floor is flooded with urine and feces.
Tangent: Which States Are Considering Similar Facilities?
Noem had said in July that she engaged in “ongoing conversations” with five Republican governors about potential encampments. She announced on Aug. 5 that the Trump administration’s next project will be a correctional facility in Miami County, Indiana, dubbing it the “Speedway Slammer,” IndyStar reported. Gov. Mike Braun said on Aug. 1 that the Indiana Department of Correction would use up to 1,000 beds at the Miami Correctional Facility—the presumed site for the center—for immigrant detainees. The facility is a maximum-security prison that can house up to about 3,100 people. South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster has left the door open for a potential facility of his own, with three candidates for governor having suggested the state have its own detention center on Wednesday.