A federal appeals court panel put a hold on a lower court judge’s order to end operations indefinitely at Alligator Alcatraz, the immigration detention centre in the Florida Everglades.
In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel in Atlanta granted a request from the state of Florida and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to block a lower court injunction pending the outcome of an appeal, stating it was in the public interest.
The ruling will allow the facility to continue holding detainees for the time being.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami issued a preliminary injunction ordering operations at the facility to be wound down by the end of October, with detainees transferred to other facilities and equipment and fencing removed.
Williams’ decision was issued in response to a lawsuit brought by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Miccosukee Tribe, who accused the state and federal defendants of not following federal law requiring an environmental review for the detention centre in the middle of the wetlands.
In late June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration raced to build the facility on an isolated airstrip surrounded by wetlands to aid U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport people in the U.S. illegally. The governor said the location in the rugged and remote Everglades was meant as a deterrent against escape.
DeSantis took to social media after the panel issued its ruling on Thursday.
“We said we would fight that. We said the mission would continue,” DeSantis said. “So Alligator Alcatraz is in fact, like we’ve always said, open for business.”
The Department of Homeland Security called the ruling a “huge victory for Alligator Alcatraz.”
“Today’s order is a win for the American people, the rule of law and common sense,” Homeland Security wrote on X.
“This lawsuit was never about the environmental impacts of turning a developed airport into a detention facility. It has and will always be about open-borders activists and judges trying to keep law enforcement from removing dangerous criminal aliens from our communities, full stop.”
The White House quoted the Homeland Security post and shared an image of Trump beside alligators wearing United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hats, writing, “Open for business.”
Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier said the ruling was a “Great win for Florida and our mission to help President Trump detain, deport, and deliver for the American people.”
The state and federal government defendants appealed Williams’ ruling, asking that it be put on hold. The state of Florida said in court papers this week that it planned to resume accepting detainees at the facility if the stay was granted.
Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said the case is “far from over.”
“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,” Samples said in a statement.
“In the meantime, if the DeSantis and Trump administrations choose to ramp operations back up at the detention center, they will just be throwing good money after bad because this ill-considered facility — which is causing harm to the Everglades — will ultimately be shut down,” Samples added.
Elise Bennett, a senior lawyer at the Center for Biological Diversity, called the ruling “a heartbreaking blow to America’s Everglades and every living creature there.”
“But the case isn’t even close to over and I’m confident we’ll ultimately prevail. I know many are questioning why the Trump and DeSantis administrations are insisting on pouring millions of taxpayer dollars into this dirty, destructive detention facility in the heart of the Everglades,” Bennett said Thursday. “Our legal system can and should stop this incredibly harmful boondoggle.”
Tania Galloni, managing lawyer for the Florida office of Earthjustice, said that “the facts and the law are on our side.”
“Building a detention center in the heart of the Everglades was reckless and unlawful. We look forward to the issues being decided on the merits,” Galloni added.
Last month, it was reported that Alligator Alcatraz was holding individuals with no criminal history, according to CBS News.
The outlet reported that some of Alligator Alcatraz’s inmates were beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA, an Obama-enacted policy that allowed undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to work and live in the country without the risk of deportation.
According to official immigration data, there were 56,945 people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention as of July 27. Of that number, 40,461 — or 71.1 per cent — have no criminal conviction.
In mid-July, the Miami Herald obtained and published a list of 700 people held at the facility, showing that at least 250 had committed no offence other than a civil immigration violation.
— With files from Global News’ Rachel Goodman and The Associated Press