A federal judge Thursday night ordered a halt to work at “Alligator Alcatraz” and banned the federal government from sending any new detainees to the immigrant detention facility that Florida erected to help President Trump.
Judge Kathleen Williams, an Obama appointee to a district court in Florida, said federal environmental laws apply, and the project — which sits in the Everglades — didn’t jump through the right hoops before it opened.
The Trump administration immediately announced an appeal.
Judge Williams said Florida rushed the entire operation without “basic forethought in many ways,” getting it operational very quickly.
She said they were required under the National Environmental Policy Act to conduct environmental reviews before starting construction.
“The defendants chose not to do so,” she said.
Florida had argued that since it is a state actor and it is running the facility, the center is not subject to the requirement for federal environmental studies.
But Judge Williams said the state is acting under what’s known as a 287(g) agreement with the feds, which effectively deputized state officials as immigration officers. And she said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement calls the shots, deciding who gets placed, and controlling the deportations, which are performed on “federally owned aircraft.”
The facility, which Gov. Ron DeSantis calls “Alligator Alcatraz” but others have named “Gator Gitmo,” was constructed on the property of Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Everglades.
Mr. DeSantis said the location is unmatched both because of the remoteness and a nearby airfield, making it easy to immediately deport illegal immigrants from the camp once their cases are concluded.
The facility can hold up to 5,000 people.
It consists of a series of pens divided by chain-link fencing. Congressional Democrats who visited last month said they found it hot and mosquito-infested, and said the sanitation and food were both below standard.
Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida sued.
“This is a landmark victory for the Everglades and countless Americans who believe this imperiled wilderness should be protected, not exploited,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades.
