Environmental Groups Sue to Delay Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit on June 27 to try to block the immediate creation of “Alligator Alcatraz,” the proposed illegal immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades.

The plaintiffs, Friends of the Everglades, and the Center for Biological Diversity, asked the Southern District of Florida to grant a preliminary injunction, arguing that the decision to construct the detention and deportation center at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport was made without conducting environmental reviews.

These reviews, the lawsuit states, are required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and out of compliance with other state, local, and federal statutes. The plaintiffs also argued that the decision was made without giving public notice or allowing for public comment.

The chosen airport sits southwest of Miami in a spot in the Everglades, the plaintiffs pointed out, that is either within or next to the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Big Cypress Area. Both of these are protected at federal and state levels as being ecologically sensitive homes for a myriad of endangered or threatened species, such as the Florida Panther.

“The site is more than 96% wetlands, surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve, and is habitat for the endangered Florida panther and other iconic species. This scheme is not only cruel, it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect,” Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said in a press release.

“Friends of the Everglades was founded by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1969 to stop harmful development at this very location. Fifty-six years later, the threat has returned—and it poses another existential threat to the Everglades.”

The suit listed the following as co-defendants: Kristi Noem in her official capacity as Homeland Security Secretary; Todd Lyons in his official capacity as Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director; Kevin Guthrie in his official capacity as executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM); and Miami-Dade County.

Florida’s emergency management division drafted plans for the detention facility and submitted them to the DHS, which approved the site and announced that it would receive funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It was touted by Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Attorney General James Uthmeier as the latest example of how the Sunshine State has stepped up to take the lead on the Trump administration’s efforts to tackle illegal immigration.

Florida attempted to purchase the site from Miami-Dade County, but disagreements over the purchase price led Guthrie to use the emergency powers delegated to him by DeSantis to take immediate control over the land while negotiations over the price continued.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cavar recognized the state government’s authority to step in, but expressed concern about how quickly developments are proceeding.

The airport was built in the early 1970s, but remained undeveloped due to environmental concerns. Samples said that her organization was founded specifically “to stop harmful development at this very location.”

However, the governor’s office recently issued a statement ensuring that no additional development of the surrounding area would be carried out.

“Utilization of this facility for these purposes will not incur the removal of vegetation, additional paving, or permanent construction,” DeSantis’s communications director, Bryan Griffin, said in the statement.

“On the existing airstrip, FDEM will utilize temporary buildings and shelters consistent with similar applications during natural disasters. Utilities such as water, sewage, and power will be facilitated by mobile equipment that will be removed at the completion of the mission.”

DeSantis showcased the rapid development of those temporary structures on the pre-existing tarmacs, stating that they could be ready to receive illegal immigrants as early as July 1.

“Governor Ron DeSantis has insisted that Florida will be a force multiplier for federal immigration enforcement, and this facility is a necessary staging operation for mass deportations located at a pre-existing airport that will have no impact on the surrounding environment,” Griffin told The Epoch Times in an email. “We look forward to litigating this case.”