Government
US Judge Halts Further Construction at 'Alligator Alcatraz' Detention Site
Temporary injunction restrains all work for two weeks at Everglades site while opponents' court challenge continues to move forward.
Faith groups from across the state of Florida gathered Aug. 3 for a vigil at the site of the detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz.
Photo Credit: Dave Decker/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom
A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction on new construction at the federal detention camp in south Florida known as “Alligator Alcatraz” for two weeks while the underlying court case filed by opponents continues to move forward.
U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami on August 7 granted a temporary restraining order at the Florida mass detention center for undocumented immigrants, ordering the state government and Trump administration to halt construction on the facility built on an airstrip at the former Miami Dade-Collier airport, which was closed in the 1960s.
The hastily constructed facility, made up largely of tents over detention cells, opened in early July and is designed to house up to 3,000 undocumented detainees, but officials have said the site could be expanded to hold 5,000 people. Numerous reports from people who have visited the site have described conditions for detainees as horrific.
Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said the facility's construction and one-year operation is expected to cost the state an estimated $450 million, but it would request federal reimbursement. Florida has so far paid contractors about $245 million, including those providing services for engineering, site preparation and buildout, road construction and maintenance, according to a state contracts database reviewed by Associated Press on July 22.
The injunction means that current and planned construction, including filling, paving, and installation of new infrastructure and new lighting must stop over the next 14 days while hearings continue related to opponents’ motion for a preliminary injunction.
The actions come in a lawsuit filed June 27 by the opponent group –Friends of the Everglades, represented by Earthjustice; and the Center for Biological Diversity, along with the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida. It states that the federally funded facility is being built in an environmentally sensitive area without the environmental studies and considerations required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
“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, in a statement.
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Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesman for DeSantis, said the ruling by “an activist judge” would not have an impact on immigration enforcement in the state, as reported by the Miami Herald. “Alligator Alcatraz will remain operational, continuing to serve as a force multiplier to enhance deportation efforts,” he said. The state said it planned another detention facility at a National Guard training center in Jacksonville.
Kevin Guthrie, head of Florida's emergency-management division, said previously that contractors hired so far were already prequalified to work in emergency services. DeSantis and state officials did not follow state bidding and environmental review requirements by citing a 2023 emergency order he declared in response to Cuban and Haitian migrants arriving by boat in the Florida Keys. The governor has since extended that immigration emergency order several times.
