A team of environmental advocates from Florida has initiated a federal lawsuit aiming to close the Alligator Alcatraz, an ICE detention facility.
The organization, Friends of the Everglades, claimed that an environmental site assessment was not conducted prior to the center’s establishment. The governor has previously rejected claims of environmental harm.
The lawsuit, filed at the federal level, lists Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as a defendant. According to a news release, the lawsuit also names ICE and the Florida Department of Emergency Management.
Attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security said they want the case to be dropped since the detention center is a state operated and funded facility.
Florida Democratic lawmakers said that’s an additional reason why they should have access to inspect the migrant detention center. State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, out of Orange County, recorded a video on a cell phone outside the southeast Florida facility.
“What are the conditions in the facility? Are people’s due process rights being respected? What is the hurricane evacuation plan considering there is flooding that’s been happening even before this facility opened?” Smith asked.
He and other democrats, including Pinellas County State Rep. Michele Rayner, were denied access to inspect the facility on Thursday.
“There is statutory authority for us to be able to pop up at detention centers, municipal jails, and prisons unannounced and be able to inspect them,” Rayner said.
Reyner is referencing state statute 944.23 (Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine) that allows lawmakers to visit state correctional institutions “at their pleasure.”
Federal court records show Homeland Security attorneys firmly deny that the federal department has any financial or operational involvement. The department added that the temporary detention center is state funded on state lands.
“We were not allowed in. We were told there were safety concerns. When pressed on those safety concerns, we were ultimately hung up on by the general counsel for the Florida Department of Emergency Management,” Rayner said.
State officials have not responded to News Channel 8’s requests for comments.
Federal court records did reveal the state’s immigration operations enforcement plan. It states there are several potential locations near airstrips that’ll follow national detention standards set by ICE, which the state prefers during hurricane season.
Court records also showed there are nine Florida national guardsmen who will be trained to be immigration judges, which the Trump Administration has approved.
A Homeland Security spokesperson also confirmed U.S. Marines will be assisting in Florida’s overall immigration enforcement.
