Alligator Alcatraz Put on Pause
Built in just a mere 8 days in Florida’s Everglades with the capacity to house up to 3,000 migrants and the ability to expand, the immigration detention facility nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz sits less than 50 miles away from President Trump’s Miami resort. The detention facility has been yet another ploy created by the Trump administration in an effort to enforce extreme immigration policies.
Following a lawsuit against the facility brought to U.S District Judge Kathleen Mary Williams by the Miccosukee Tribe and various environmental groups including Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and EarthJustice, the construction and operations of Alligator Alcatraz have finally been put on hold. Though the hold will only last for two weeks, it includes any lighting, paving, fencing, and anything else that is done in order to further the building and expansion of Alligator Alcatraz, but does not affect any detainees or incoming detainees.
The order to halt construction comes with the purpose of trying to prevent any possible harm that can be done to the ecologically sensitive wetlands around it, the Everglade’s ecosystem in particular. The environmental groups and Miccosukee Tribe say that the detention center was built without completing the proper environmental impact studies. The safety and health of the Everglades are important not just because of the fact that it is home to many sensitive species, but it is also especially important to the Miccosukee Tribe because it is the home to an animal sacred to them, the endangered Florida Panther.
After the hold was announced, Chairman of the Miccosukee Tribe, Talbert Cypress, publicly spoke out against the facility and stressed the importance of the hold, “We welcome the court’s decision to pause construction on this deeply concerning project. The detention facility threatens land that is not only environmentally sensitive, but sacred to our people. While this order is temporary, it is an important step in asserting our rights and protecting our homeland. The Miccosukee Tribe will continue to stand for our culture, our sovereignty, and the Everglades.”
Desantis backs the decision to have the detention center built in the Everglades, stating, “Clearly, from a security perspective, if someone escapes, you know, there’s a lot of alligators. No one’s going anywhere.”
The facility is also facing a second lawsuit, brought to court by civil rights groups, pertaining to human rights concerns. The groups accuse the facility and those who run it of violating detainees' constitutional rights including the right to a lawyer and being detained without charges. Federal and state government defendants involved in the case are arguing that Judge Williams should dismiss the case on the grounds that it was filed in the wrong jurisdiction.
Several democrats, environmentalists, and immigration and human rights activists have spoken out to condemn the creation of the detention center, calling it cruel and dehumanizing. When allowed a limited tour of the center, even Florida lawmakers reported seeing migrants stuffed in cages amidst unhygienic facilities, sweltering heat, little food and water, and bug infestations.
In the wake of these lawsuits, Florida officials, led by Florida Republican Gov. Ron Desantis, have also been preparing to create a second immigration detention facility. This facility would be located at a National Guard training center in northern Florida and is already labeled in state records as “North Detention Facility”. State officials have described this second facility as temporary and reliant on heavy duty tents and impermanent buildings. Desantis is relying on state emergency powers to create this second center and ignore the human rights concerns.
Alligator Alcatraz is environmentally destructive, unconstitutional, and inhumane. From the effect it has on the surrounding areas to the effect it has on those within, this center is hurting our planet and our people.
