Environmental Groups Urge Appeals Court Panel to Lift Halt on Closing Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
The groups say the center needed a federal environmental review because DHS authorized funding and immigration is a federal function, attorneys told judges.
- On Tuesday, environmental groups asked a federal appellate court panel to drop its temporary halt of a lower court order requiring the closure of the 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center in the Florida Everglades.
- State officials opened the detention center last summer to support President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, but a federal district judge in Miami ordered its closure in mid-August after officials failed to conduct a required environmental impact review.
- FEMA approved $608 million in federal funding for the center in late September, though state attorney Jesse Panuccio argued the state maintains control, while environmental groups' counsel contended federal funding triggers compliance obligations.
- The detention center remains open holding detainees as three appellate judges in Miami questioned the scope of federal control during oral arguments, with no timeline provided for their decision.
- Paul Schwiep, attorney for Friends of the Everglades and Center for Biological Diversity, argued immigration is constitutionally a federal function, while a federal judge in Fort Myers separately ruled detainees must receive confidential attorney calls.
47 Articles
47 Articles
Tulsa World
Environmental groups fight 'Alligator Alcatraz'
ORLANDO, Fla. — Environmental groups asked a federal appellate court panel Tuesday to drop its temporary halt of a lower court's order instructing state officials to close an immigration detention center in the heart of the Florida Everglades known as…
Federal judges weigh push to reinstate order shutting down Alligator Alcatraz
The question of who is in charge of operations at the controversial Everglades detention site known as Alligator Alcatraz continued to loom large Tuesday in Miami federal court as appellate judges weighed whether to overturn a lower court’s decision last…
Environmental activists plead with appeals court to shutter Alligator Alcatraz
An appeals court hearing in the legal fight by environmental activists to shutter the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention facility turned into a battle on Tuesday over who controls the facility: the state or the federal government. The lawsuit, filed by Friends of the Everglades, claims that the construction of the immigration detention facility on the site of an airstrip in the Florida Everglades last year was done without a required envir…
Environmental groups urge appeals court panel to lift halt on closing ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Environmental groups on Tuesday asked a federal appellate court panel to drop its temporary halt of a lower court’s order instructing state officials to close an immigration detention center in the heart of the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The Everglades facility remains open, still holding detainees, because the appellate court in early September relied on arguments by Florida and the Trump administration that the state had…
Is 'Alligator Alcatraz' under federal control? Answer could decide environmental groups' case
Whether the feds control "Alligator Alcatraz" could decide whether environmental groups' legal case continues. (Photo via Florida Division of Emergency Management X account)Proving that the federal government controls the Everglades immigrant detention camp the state calls “Alligator Alcatraz” could be key to whether environmental groups’ case to shutter the facility survives, a chief appellate judge indicated Tuesday. The question sets up an in…
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