US EditionJudge Rules Against Alligator Alcatraz
Federal court mandates shutdown of Alligator Alcatraz immigration center due to environmental law violations impacting endangered species and local water sources, with a 60-day compliance deadline.
- Late Thursday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered Alligator Alcatraz to wind down operations within 60 days, halting expansion and new detainees due to its location in Florida Everglades near Ochopee, Florida.
- Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians sued after the facility was rapidly built without the required environmental assessment or impact statement, threatening sensitive wetlands and communities relying on Everglades water, Judge Williams found.
- State records show Florida Division of Emergency Management signed $245 million in contracts for a 3,000-capacity center housing 300–350 detainees; Kevin Guthrie said, `Everything here has been competitively bid off of master contracts that went to competitive procurement a year, two years, three years ago`.
- The ruling requires the removal of generators, lighting, fencing and waste within 60 days while the State of Florida appealed and the federal government sought a stay; Gov. Ron DeSantis called the judge "an activist judge" and said, `We knew this would be something that would likely happen`.
- The ruling signals a major setback for the nation's first state-run migrant detention center, with Homeland Security pledging $600 million in federal funding and officials estimating $450 million annual costs, while environmentalists hailed the decision as a relief.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Spectrum Local News
Email from top Florida official: 'Alligator Alcatraz’ will likely be empty soon
News that the last detainee could leave the facility within days comes after a federal judge ordered the detention center to wind down operations.
When Jewish migrants were trapped and terrified in Florida — like Alligator Alcatraz inmates today
Alligator Alcatraz — an internment camp in the Florida swamp for detained immigrants, created under President Donald Trump’s administration — has been ordered to close, although the government is appealing. In its brief existence, the facility has drawn comparisons to Nazi concentration camps. Conditions inside the internment center are said to be ferociously inhospitable. One man said his prison cell was “like a dog cage.” There are reports tha…
A federal judge in Miami, Kathleen Williams, has ruled that the construction of the Alligator Alcatraz prison, opened at the request of US President Donald Trump, in Everglades National Park in Florida is illegal and ordered its closure, the Guardian reported.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 69% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
