Judge halts ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ construction over environmental challenge
A federal judge has temporarily halted the construction of the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades due to environmental concerns. Judge kathleen Williams ordered a 14-day pause on construction but allowed the detention center’s operations to continue. The halt resulted from a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, led by Friends of the Everglades, who argued the facility was built without proper environmental reviews.The Justice Department countered that the environmental harm claims were speculative and emphasized the national interest in combating illegal immigration. Hearings on the case will continue, with more testimonies expected. The facility has also faced legal challenges over alleged violations of detainees’ constitutional rights, drawing criticism since it began operating. The “Alligator Alcatraz” has inspired plans for a similar detention center, named the “Speedway Slammer,” in Indiana.
Federal judge halts construction of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ over environmental challenge
A federal judge temporarily halted the construction of the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility on Thursday over environmental concerns.
Judge Kathleen Williams, an Obama appointee, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, ordered the construction of the facility to be halted for 14 days during a hearing but allowed operations to continue with detainees at the detention center, according to the Associated Press.
Alligator Alcatraz has garnered national headlines over its unique location at a seldom-used airstrip in the Florida Everglades and has prompted multiple lawsuits. The lawsuit that sparked Thursday’s construction pause came from environmental groups, led by Friends of the Everglades, who claimed that the facility was built and operated without required environmental reviews.
The order from Williams came following a second day of hearings over the preliminary injunction proposed by the environmental groups to block the construction and operation of Alligator Alcatraz. Williams declined to halt the operations of the facility in her Thursday order.
Justice Department attorneys argued in a brief to the court that the alleged harm to the environment posed by the facility’s operations and construction was “too speculative and conclusory.” They also argued the “significant national interest in combatting unlawful immigration favors allowing Florida to continue the development and use of its facility.”
Hearings in the case will continue in a federal courthouse in Miami next week. The federal government will present its witnesses and testimony after the environmental groups did so this week.
JUDGE HEARS ARGUMENTS FOR HALTING ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ OVER ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Alligator Alcatraz is also the subject of another lawsuit that claims people being held in the facility are having their constitutional rights violated by not having access to their lawyers and being held without charges. The widely publicized detention center has been the subject of scrutiny and criticism by Democratic politicians since it began operating earlier this summer.
The facility has inspired plans for another detention center titled the “Speedway Slammer” in Indiana, which will similarly be a holding facility for illegal immigrants.
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