Judge considers whether ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention centre violates environmental law

MIAMI (AP):

A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday over whether to stop construction of an immigration detention centre built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” because it didn’t follow environmental laws.

Until the laws are followed, environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe said US District Judge Kathleen Williams should issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction. The suit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars’ worth of environmental restoration.

The lawsuit in Miami against federal and state authorities is one of two legal challenges to the South Florida detention centre which was built more than a month ago by the state of Florida on an isolated airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County.

A second lawsuit brought by civil rights groups says detainees’ constitutional rights are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has cancelled bond hearings. A hearing in that case is scheduled for August 18.

The detention facility has ignored a review process required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and the lawsuit was meant to assert the public’s rights to make sure environmental harm does not occur, Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, testified in court Wednesday. Samples noted that her organisation was founded in 1969 by environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas in response to a failed effort to build a massive airport in the same location.

An attorney for the state of Florida questioned Samples during cross examination about whether Friends of the Everglades had filed any lawsuits or taken legal action against the airport or its owner, Miami-Dade County, over the past decade. She acknowledged they had not.

“Victories are sometimes imperfect,” she said.

When the attorney asked Samples if she agreed with the political decision to detain and deport immigrants, the judge shut down the question, saying the trial would be limited to environmental issues.

Under the 55-year-old federal environmental law, federal agencies should have examined how the detention centre’s construction would impact the environment, identified ways to minimise the impact and followed other procedural rules such as allowing public comment, according to the environmental groups and the tribe.

It makes no difference that the detention centre holding hundreds of detainees was built by the state of Florida since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the suit said.

“The construction of a detention centre is an action that is necessarily subject to federal control and responsibility,” they said in a recent court filing. “The State of Florida has no authority or jurisdiction to enforce federal immigration law.”

Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week asked Judge Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida’s southern district is the wrong venue for the lawsuit since the detention centre is located in neighbouring Collier County, which is in the state’s middle district, they said.

Williams had yet to rule on that argument.

The lawsuits were being heard as Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis ′ administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention centre at a Florida National Guard training centre in north Florida. At least one contract has been awarded for what’s labelled in state records as the “North Detention Facility”.