Judge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center

MIAMI – 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 Wednesday 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 (8 hectares) 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 arial 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.

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.

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 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 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.”