No additional detainees can be brought into Florida’s remote migrant detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” and basic utilities and supporting infrastructure at the facility must be removed within two months, a federal judge ordered Thursday.
Miami-based District Judge Kathleen Williams, an appointee of President Barack Obama, issued the temporary injunction in response to a lawsuit filed by several environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians.
The plaintiffs argued that federal agencies did not assess the potential impacts the facility may have on the wetlands and endangered species in the Florida Everglades, as well as the tribe’s water and food supply, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Williams’ order barred state and federal officials from “bringing any additional persons” to Alligator Alcatraz “who were not already being detained at the site at the time of this Order going into effect.”
The judge also ruled that within 60 days and “once the population attrition allows for safe implementation of this Order” Trump administration and Florida officials must remove all temporary fencing around the detention camp, lighting fixtures “installed for the use of the property as a detention facility” and “all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles” installed at the facility.
It’s unclear how Alligator Alcatraz would be able to operate without that infrastructure in place.
Earlier this month, Williams ordered a construction halt at the swampland facility, which remains in place under her new ruling.
Alligator Alcatraz has the capacity for 2,000 detainees but was in the process of expanding to hold up to 4,000.
The detention center, built in eight days on 30 square miles of land deep in the Florida Everglades, opened last month after Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis used his emergency powers to order its construction.
The property is outfitted with tent structures to house the illegal migrants and was built on the site of an old airport owned by Miami-Dade County.
Environmental groups and the Miccosukee tribe argued that the facility threatens billions of dollars’ worth of environmental restoration work done in the area.
They also claimed the building of the facility violated NEPA, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of major construction projects.
Jesse Panuccio, an attorney for the state of Florida, countered in a hearing earlier this month that the construction and operation of Alligator Alcatraz were under the purview of the state of Florida, not the federal government, meaning that NEPA review was not required.
However, since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the plaintiffs claimed, it makes no difference that the facility was built by the state of Florida and NEPA should still apply.
Williams’ temporary order will remain in place while the case is litigated to determine if NEPA procedures were violated.
“Allowing the detention camp to continue expanding its infrastructure and operations poses an even more formidable challenge than maintaining the status quo because ‘it is difficult to change that course’ if the Court eventually decides that NEPA assessments are required,” the judge wrote in her opinion.
“The construction of the facility may have taken only eight days, but the capacity of the Defendants to remedy the NEPA violations outlined will involve a longer period of time,” she added. “The Court has endeavored to provide that temporal accommodation in its Order.”
The Department of Homeland Security and DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
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