A federal appeals court panel has paused a lower court’s injunction barring additional construction at the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center for undocumented immigrants, finding that the facility is needed to address Florida’s “immigration crisis.”
Eve Samples is executive director of the Friends of the Everglades.
A divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday issued the stay of the lower court’s order to wind down the operation of the detention center, based on the lack of any environmental review of the project. The plaintiffs who filed the original challenge to Alligator Alcatraz, including Friends of the Everglades, argued that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) required such a review prior to the construction of the facility, which is located in the Big Cypress Area in South Florida.
But the 11th Circuit panel concluded that because the federal government has yet to reimburse the state for the cost to construct the immigration facility, no federal action has yet been taken and consequently the detention center is not subject to the provisions of NEPA.
The 11th Circuit also stressed that in January, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared Florida was facing a state of emergency due to mass illegal immigration. In turn, DeSantis directed the state Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) to work with federal agencies to deal with the emergency.
That led to FDEM’s decision in June to take control of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport and to build the detention center. Last month, federal district Judge Kathleen Williams issued an injunction barring defendants from engaging in additional construction at the site and requiring the dismantling of lighting, fencing and utilities that were installed during the creation of Alligator Alcatraz.
“Given that the federal government has an undisputed and wide-reaching interest in combatting illegal immigration, and that illegal immigration is a matter of national security and public safety, we think the injunction issued below goes against the public interest,” the 11th Circuit said.
Florida officials told the appeals court panel that shutting down the detention center would “kneecap” the state’s immigration enforcement efforts.
“We are convinced that, if the injunction were to stay in place, it would bring the state’s already stressed and overcrowded system to a breaking point,” the 11th Circuit said.
Environmental-group plaintiffs acknowledged that the latest court decision will at least temporarily allow the resumption of operations at Alligator Alcatraz, but they contend the facts of the situation and the law are on their side.
"The case is far from over,” Eve Samples, the Friends of the Everglades executive director, said in a prepared statement. “In fact, it's just starting, and we're committed to fighting on. The court entered a limited stay order. While disappointing, we never expected ultimate success to be easy. We're hopeful the preliminary injunction will be affirmed when it's reviewed on its merits during the appeal."
In a statement provided to the Florida Record, DeSantis said the 11th Circuit decision was a victory for Florida and federal Department of Homeland Security officials.
"(Alligator Alcatraz) was huge to help expand the mission and fulfil the mission for President Trump to increase deportations,” he said. “We did have a leftist judge and the media said it's closed, they're done. ... But I said the mission will continue and we're going to win. So predictably we did, and they have egg on their face again."
