Florida Judge Orders Officials to Shut Down 'Alligator Alcatraz' Migrant Detention Center

NEED TO KNOW

• A judge from the Southern District of Florida has ruled that state officials have 60 days to dismantle a mass migrant detention and deportation facility touted by the Trump administration and nicknamed 'Alligator Alcatraz'

• Environmental activists argued in the lawsuit that the project has been constructed and operated in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, "which requires that major federal actions significantly affecting the human environment undergo environmental review processes"

• Florida's Miccosukee Tribe claimed the facility impacted its access to the surrounding area and posed risks to the tribe's food and water supply

A judge from the Southern District of Florida has ruled that state officials have 60 days to shut down and dismantle a mass migrant detention and deportation facility touted by the Trump administration and nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz."

Environmental activists argued in the lawsuit that the project has been constructed and operated in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, "which requires that major federal actions significantly affecting the human environment undergo environmental review processes," according to the ruling.

Additionally, Florida's Miccosukee Tribe claimed the facility impacted its access to the surrounding area and posed risks to the tribe's food and water supply.

On-site structures were first erected in late June, the complaint alleged, as reported by the Washington Post. The property, an abandoned airfield at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, is nestled within the Florida Everglades, an area that receives federal protection.

The decision, issued on Thursday, August 21, states that once detention population attrition allows officials to safely implement the order, they must remove temporary fencing to allow local tribe members to access the site, consistent with their access before the camp was constructed. They were also ordered to remove lighting fixtures, along with "all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles that were installed to support this project."

In her 82-page ruling, Judge Kathleen Williams prohibited authorities from bringing any additional people onsite who weren't already being detained, but did not prohibit "modification or repairs to existing facilities, which are solely for the purpose of increasing safety or mitigating environmental or other risks at the site."

The plaintiffs alleged that the project created a major environmental impact and was subject to significant federal control. Under NEPA, they argued, the defendants were required to conduct environmental reviews ahead of construction, but never did.

The judge agreed with the basics of that argument.

"Although it apparently lacks basic forethought in many ways, the facility has undergone substantial construction and is currently operational. Indeed, as Plaintiffs allege, the State and Federal Defendants coordinated to 'construct a mass migrant detention and deportation center' and have completed 'the installation of housing units, construction of sanitation and food services systems, industrial high-intensity lighting infrastructure, [and] diesel power generators,'" she wrote.

"Prior to such construction, however, the Defendants were required, under NEPA, to issue an [environmental impact statement] or conduct an [environmental assessment]. The Defendants chose not to do so," she added.

The scale of the detention project is massive.

"The Court reviewed plans and photos showing that operation of the camp, to date, has involved paving approximately 800,000 square feet of land, installation of industrial lighting impacting the night sky at least 20 to 30 miles away, and enough residential infrastructure to house thousands of detainees and on-site staff," Williams wrote.

She also took issue with officials' argument that the project is purely a state action.

"The project was requested by the federal government; built with a promise of full federal funding; constructed in compliance with ICE standards; staffed by deputized ICE Task Force Officers acting under color of federal authority and at the direction and supervision of ICE officials; and exists for the sole purpose of detaining and deporting those subject to federal immigration enforcement," she wrote.

"Detainees are brought onto the site by federal agents and deported from the site by federal agents on federally owned aircraft. In concluding the camp is a major federal action, the Court will 'adhere to the time-tested adage: if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, then it’s a duck,'" she continued.

Outlining specific environmental concerns, Williams acknowleged, "Plaintiffs identify a myriad of risks from the project to the wetlands and endangered species whose habitats include the area around the site. Plaintiffs also proved that runoff and wastewater discharge from the camp risks polluting the water supply in the Miccosukee Reserved Area—where eighty percent of Tribe members reside—just a few miles downstream from the TNT site, and beyond."

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"Finally, Plaintiffs show ongoing harms to organizational and Tribal members’ enjoyment of the preserved areas due to the project’s industrial lighting, noise, traffic, and security perimeter," she added.

She also noted the harmful effects of light pollution from the camp's "intense industrial lighting, which obstructs views of the night sky in Miami-Dade."

Such light pollution, the decision says, impacts the habitat area of the endangered Florida bonneted bat. In addition, "the lighting from the site immediately reduces the panther habitat by 2,000 acres, as studies suggest panthers are unlikely to come within 500 meters of a large artificial light source."

Overall, the court found that "the project creates irreparable harm in the form of habitat loss and increased mortality to endangered species in the area."

Kevin Guthrie, Florida Division of Emergency Management's Executive Director and a defendant in the suit, is appealing the decision.

Read the original article on People