Judge pauses work on Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz detention centre

Alligator Alcatraz is the first state-run detention centre in the US opened to accommodate the Trump administration’s arrest of immigrants. Photo / Getty Images

A federal judge in Miami has ordered construction to be paused at Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz, the first state-run detention centre in the country opened to accommodate the Trump administration’s arrest of immigrants.

The ruling by US District Judge Kathleen Williams ordering a two-week halt to new construction at the facility in the Everglades followed a hearing in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and joined by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians.

“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,” Eve Samples, executive director at Friends of the Everglades, said in a statement.

Florida state Representative Anna Eskamani, who testified at the hearing in support of the conservation groups, called the order “a necessary and welcome step in stopping a project that never should have been approved in the first place”.

“This facility is not only a threat to one of the most environmentally sensitive regions in the country. It is also a glaring example of how far the State of Florida will go to criminalise immigrants and ignore the long-term health of our natural resources,” Eskamani said in a statement.

A spokesman for Governor Ron DeSantis dismissed the impact of the order.

“Today’s ruling by an activist judge will have no impact on immigration enforcement in Florida,” Alex Lanfranconi said in a statement. “Alligator Alcatraz will remain operational, continuing to serve as a force multiplier to enhance deportation efforts.”

Conservation groups sued the state and the federal government on June 27, four days after Florida began setting up what DeSantis called “a makeshift” detention centre next to Everglades National Park and within Big Cypress National Preserve.

Tents that cover caged cells for 3000 detainees, with hundreds of portable cubicles for 1000 staff members, were built within days. What was once a little-used airstrip is now a bustling construction and detention site, with more than 20 acres of wetlands paved over, according to environmentalists.

DeSantis has said that the US$450 million site is temporary and that the Everglades “will grow over it” once it is shut down.

It is unclear when that will be, though, with the state at the forefront of assisting the Department of Homeland Security in detaining immigrants and DeSantis planning to open at least one more facility in north Florida.

President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem toured the site on July 1. Trump praised the centre’s location.

“We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” he said.

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said Thursday’s ruling “is another attempt to prevent the President from fulfilling the American people’s mandate for mass deportations”.

Noem said similar detention centres might be built in other states. An existing detention facility north of Indianapolis that Noem this week referred to as the “Speedway Slammer” could house 1000 immigrants, according to DHS.

The Everglades facility has already disrupted wildlife, witnesses told the judge during this week’s hearing. The area is a habitat for the Florida panther and other endangered species, including the bonneted bat. Security lights around Alligator Alcatraz can be seen for 15 miles. The light creates a halo effect around an area that used to be a panther habitat, said Tania Galloni, an attorney with Earthjustice, one of the groups suing. “Now that’s lost because the panthers are going to avoid it,” she said.

There is no electricity, plumbing or existing infrastructure at the site, and it runs on portable generators. Water must be trucked in daily and waste removed, which attorneys said raises concerns about possible spills. Increased traffic is another concern, as vehicle collisions are a common cause of death for panthers.

There were separate hearings this week about the facility after the American Civil Liberties Union and others filed a lawsuit on behalf of detainees who said they haven’t been given access to attorneys while at the detention centre.