MIAMI – On Thursday, a federal judge mandated a temporary stop to construction activities at an immigration detention center located in the heart of the Florida Everglades, known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” This order was issued as legal debates continue over whether the project breaches environmental regulations.
The detention facility may continue its operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by holding detainees, but no new filling, paving, or infrastructure development is allowed for the next 14 days. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams delivered this decision during a hearing, stating that her formal written order would follow later in the day.
Environmental advocates and the Miccosukee Tribe have requested that Williams grant a preliminary injunction to cease both operations and further construction. The lawsuit argues that the endeavor poses threats to ecologically sensitive wetlands that are vital habitats for endangered plants and animals, potentially undoing billions in environmental restoration efforts.
Plaintiffs provided witnesses on Wednesday and Thursday in support of the injunction, with state and federal government attorneys slated to present their cases the following week.
After Thursday’s testimonies, Paul Schwiep, representing the environmental groups, urged Williams to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent any new construction until the arguments for the preliminary injunction are resolved.
In response, Williams queried Florida attorney Jesse Panuccio to see if the state would voluntarily pause construction, alleviating the need for a restraining order. She emphasized that once built, structures at the site would likely become permanent, regardless of the case’s outcome.
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 still ongoing preliminary injunction hearing continues.
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.
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.
A second lawsuit 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 Aug. 18.
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.”
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