Federal Judge Halts New Construction at Alligator Alcatraz – Inside Climate News

MIAMI—A federal judge has paused new construction at Alligator Alcatraz, the Everglades detention site where the Trump administration aims to incarcerate and deport thousands of undocumented migrants.

Judge Kathleen Williams issued a temporary restraining order Thursday barring activities at the site such as paving, filling, excavating and installing fencing, along with new buildings, tents or industrial-style lighting. Incarcerations at the facility, which can accommodate up to 2,000 inmates, may continue. Williams said the order would remain in effect for 14 days.

The order represents a victory for environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe, which had sued to stop the detention site, arguing it was rushed to completion without any public comment or environmental review. Such a review is necessary under federal laws such as the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, which require that federal agencies prepare environmental impact statements on potential projects.

Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida. Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management; Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Miami-Dade County, which owns the property are named as defendants in the complaint. 

“At this early stage, the Court finds that, at minimum, the Federal Defendants’ legal control over the Facility’s operations, evidence that the Facility’s construction was at the request of DHS, and the regular inspections of the site by ICE officials, combined with the undisputed lack of any prior environmental assessment pursuant to NEPA, create a sufficient likelihood of success” for the plaintiffs’ claim, Williams wrote in her order.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, that operations and deportations at Alligator Alcatraz would continue.

“Yesterday’s ruling by an activist judge will have no impact on immigration enforcement in Florida,” a statement attributed to Alex Lanfranconi, the governor’s director of communications, and provided to Inside Climate News says. “Alligator Alcatraz will remain operational, continuing to serve as a force multiplier to enhance deportation efforts.”

Miami-Dade County, which in the past has expressed “outrage” over the state takeover of the locally owned site and shared the concerns of the environmental groups, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“This lawsuit ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade. It is another attempt to prevent the President from fulfilling the American people’s mandate for mass deportations,” reads a statement attributed to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, and provided to Inside Climate News. “These environmental activists—and activist judge—don’t care about the invasion of our country facilitated by the Biden administration, but the American people do.”

The environmental groups requested the temporary restraining order while a multi-day evidentiary hearing continues in Miami. During the hearing, which began Wednesday and continued Thursday, attorneys representing the government agencies sought to downplay the site’s environmental impacts and the federal government’s role in the facility. In Florida, a state-run detention site would face a less stringent environmental review than a federal one. The hearing is scheduled to resume Tuesday.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) testified that Guthrie told her during a July tour of the site with other federal and state dignitaries that the Department of Homeland Security had extended a written request for the facility. He said ICE was responsible for inspecting the site and transporting inmates to be detained there. Guthrie also said the goal was to expand the site to accommodate 4,000 prisoners by the end of August, according to Eskamani.

Frank Singer, an attorney representing the federal government, pointed out during his questioning of Eskamani that while the Department of Homeland Security had requested the facility in Florida, the agency had not specified that the site must be in the fragile Everglades. The watershed is responsible for the drinking water of thousands of Floridians. A $23 billion federal and state restoration effort is among the most ambitious of its kind in human history.

Meanwhile, Jessica Namath, a member of Friends of the Everglades, testified she often visited the road leading to the site, before the detention center was built, to hike and have picnics with her kids. In recent weeks, she had called the governor’s office multiple times to ask when she might have access to the road again, but was told each time the site was a federal facility and that she should contact her U.S. senators, she said. Her father, the former professional football player Joe Namath, watched from the courtroom as his daughter testified.

Randy Kautz, a wildlife ecologist, testified that the site was on lands important to the endangered Florida panther, the official state animal. Fewer than 250 of the animals are believed to remain in the wild. Kautz said he was surprised the panther’s plight had not been considered in advance of the detention center.

“I would have expected consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for potential impacts on the Florida panther, as well as other species in the area,” he said.

Environmental groups cheered the judge’s order.

“The court’s decision to grant a temporary restraining order is a win for common sense, the rule of law and the Everglades,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, in a statement provided to Inside Climate News.

“The National Environmental Policy Act is a bedrock federal protection that must be followed. The law exists to ensure that destructive projects like this cannot proceed without a full and transparent review of their environmental impacts. This fight is far from over, but for the next 14 days, the heart of the Everglades is spared from more irreversible harm,” she added.

Betty Osceola, a member of the Miccosukee Tribe who lives less than four miles from the facility, said she felt hopeful but skeptical that the government agencies would obey the order. She lingered outside the site Thursday until after midnight, watching for signs of more construction. During that time, a bus carrying more inmates turned into the facility, she said.

“They haven’t followed the process from the get-go so I don’t trust that they’ll follow this court order either,” she said.