A federal judge has ordered a halt to the construction of the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades due to environmental concerns.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that the facility can continue operations and hold detainees. However, the continued construction of the facility is temporarily barred for the next two weeks.
The ruling followed an eight-hour meeting in which five witnesses were called by the environmental groups who issued a lawsuit over the detention facility. The environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe asked Williams to halt operations and further construction at the facility, arguing that it’s built on environmentally protected wetlands and reverses billions in environmental restoration.
The plaintiffs argued that the detention center was illegally built due to federal and state officials bypassing a review process legally required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
“This is a very common-sense law that requires the government to look before it leaps, to analyze the environmental impacts, to do an environmental impact study, to take public comment, to consider alternatives, and none of that was done at so-called ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’” stated Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades.
Hellbound and Down 