MIAMI (AP) — On Wednesday, a federal judge listened to arguments regarding the halting of a controversial immigration detention center’s construction in the Florida Everglades, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” due to non-compliance with environmental regulations.
Environmental organizations and the Miccosukee Tribe urged U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams to impose a preliminary injunction to cease operations and further developement until environmental laws are adhered to. The lawsuit argues that the project endangers sensitive wetlands, home to protected species, and jeopardizes billions worth of environmental restoration efforts.
The Miami-filed lawsuit against federal and state officials is among two legal battles concerning the South Florida detention center, constructed over a month prior on an isolated Miami-Dade County-owned airstrip by the state of Florida.
Another lawsuit filed by civil rights entities claims that the detainees’ constitutional rights are being breached, as they are denied access to attorneys, held without charges, and federal immigration courts have canceled bond hearings. A hearing for this case is set for August 18.
Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, told the court that the detention facility had ignored the review process mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, emphasizing the public’s right to prevent environmental damage.
Randy Kautz, a wildlife ecologist and former researcher with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, testified that the new facility would likely result in a decreased habitat for the endangered Florida panthers, increasing the likelihood of panther fatalities from both other panthers and vehicular collisions.
Kautz cited studies showing panthers generally stay at least 650 feet (200 meters) from areas with human activity and 1,600 feet (500 meters) away from bright artificial lights at night, translating to about 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of potentially lost habitat surrounding “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, who took a July 12 tour of the facility with other state and federal lawmakers, in court described an active construction site with recently-erected tents, new asphalt and temporary lights. Florida Division of Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie told members of the tour that the facility would be able to hold 4,000 detainees by the end of August and the center had about 1,000 workers, some of whom lived at the facility and others who commuted, said Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat.
Jessica Namath, a member of Friends of the Everglades, testified that she’s been protesting near the entrance of the detention facility regularly since it opened. She described seeing a constant parade of work trucks and other heavy machinery. She said she’s been visiting the Everglades and the area around the detention center for years, and it now looks “heartbreakingly different.”
Namath is the daughter of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath, who attended Wednesday’s hearing but didn’t speak.
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 holding hundreds of detainees was built by the state of Florida since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the suit said.
Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week asked Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. 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 yet to rule on that argument.
The lawsuits were being heard as Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ′ administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention center 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.”
___
Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social
