A federal judge in the United States ordered on Thursday (August 7th) to temporarily halt further construction of the Alligator Alcatraz unlawful immigration detention center in Florida, as some environmental organizations have accused the project of violating federal environmental laws. They requested the judge to issue a temporary restraining order to temporarily stop construction.
Judge Kathleen Williams of the Southern District Federal Court in Florida ruled during a hearing on Thursday that the Trump administration and Florida can continue to use the detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz” to detain undocumented immigrants apprehended by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, construction workers are not allowed to undertake new construction within the next 14 days. The U.S. district judge also mentioned that she would issue a written temporary restraining order later that day.
Several environmental organizations and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians in Florida jointly filed a lawsuit to demand a halt to further construction of “Alligator Alcatraz” on the grounds that the detention center was built without the necessary environmental impact assessment. The area is a habitat for various sensitive animal and plant species and is considered sacred by the Miccosukee indigenous tribe.
The plaintiffs presented witness testimonies supporting the issuance of the injunction during the hearings on Wednesday and Thursday, while lawyers representing the state of Florida and the federal government are scheduled to appear in court next week.
Following the hearing on Thursday, lawyers representing the environmental groups requested Judge Williams to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent any new construction activity at the site at least during the period of debate on whether a preliminary injunction should be issued.
The main argument of the plaintiffs is that the detention facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impact of major projects before undertaking construction.
Lawyers representing the state of Florida argued that the facility was initially funded, constructed, and managed by the state government, and therefore, is not bound by the National Environmental Policy Act, which is the main basis for questioning the facility’s compliance.
The Alligator Alcatraz unlawful immigration detention center was built on a former training airport in the Florida Everglades and initially had a capacity of approximately 3,000 detainees, completed in just eight days. Authorities are planning to quickly expand it, increasing the bed capacity to around 5,000.
The detention center was officially opened on July 1st, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arranged the first deportation flights in late July, deporting about 100 detained undocumented immigrants from the facility to other countries.