ANNALS OF DeSANTISTAN: Environmental groups sue to halt construction of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ (Skyler Swisher & Rafael Olmeda, Orlando Sentinel, June 27, 2025)

Thanks to the environmental groups and lawyers litigating against the DeSANTISn administration's desecration of the Evergladees.   From Sun Sentinel:

Environmental groups sue to halt construction of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

‘We look forward to litigating this case,’ governor’s spokesman says

Florida officials have set Tuesday as the target date to open an immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." (WSVN via AP)

By SKYLER SWISHER | sswisher@orlandosentinel.com | Orlando Sentinel and RAFAEL OLMEDA | rolmeda@sunsentinel.com | South Florida Sun Sentinel

UPDATED: June 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM EDT

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to halt construction of a state-run immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades called “Alligator Alcatraz” that is set to open within days.

The Friends of the Everglades and Center for Biological Diversity sued in federal court, arguing that the project did not go through a required environmental review and public comment period.

“This scheme is not only cruel, it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect,” Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said in a statement.

The center’s location at a little-used airfield near the Miami-Dade-Collier county line is more than 96% wetlands and provides an important habitat for the endangered Florida panther and other iconic species, she added.

The suit was filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County, which owns the airfield. It seeks an injunction halting construction until the defendants comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations.

Meanwhile, Florida officials are plowing ahead with construction on the Everglades detention center, giving Tuesday as the target opening date. Officials have described the camp as temporary with “heavy-duty” tents and trailers.

“This facility is a necessary staging operation for mass deportations located at a pre-existing airport that will have no impact on the surrounding environment,” said Bryan Griffin, a DeSantis spokesman. “We look forward to litigating this case.”

DeSantis showed off the construction Friday morning on Fox News, and the Florida Republican Party launched an Alligator Alcatraz-themed merchandise line to raise funds off the controversial project. Florida officials view the center’s remote location as an asset, boasting that its surrounding wetlands, filled with alligators and pythons, would deter attempts at escape.

The GOP’s fundraising swag features t-shirts, trucker hats and drink koozies. The shirts show a prison building and guard tower with an alligator and python in the foreground.

During the Fox interview, DeSantis invited President Trump to visit the facility after it opens, adding that Air Force One could land on the center’s runway. DeSantis invoked emergency powers to seize the property and expedite the center’s construction. He deemed illegal immigration to be an emergency in 2023.

Federal and state officials want to set up 5,000 detention beds by early July at Alligator Alcatraz and potentially other sites, such as Camp Blanding, a National Guard base in North Florida. The governor said the detention centers will relieve pressure on county jails holding inmates facing deportation.

As DeSantis touted the Everglades project, Florida Senate Democrats denounced it as a “cruel publicity stunt” designed to excite the Republican base and project an artificial image of toughness at the expense of the safety of future camp detainees and staff.

“We do not know who the people are who will be detained in this facility,” said Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman, of Boynton Beach. “This is not tough. It’s inhumane. Selling the merchandise just shows how absurd this is. These [future detainees] are people, and we need to recognize that.”

The rapid pace of the plan, from announcement to implementation in under two weeks, raises a multitude of questions, Democrats said.

Among those questions: Who are the contractors? How were they selected and ready to move so quickly? Will the facility be able to withstand the hurricane season? Are there evacuation plans? Has there been any consideration of the environmental impact?

Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, accused DeSantis of falsely declaring illegal immigration to be a local emergency. “There is no emergency,” he said. “This has nothing to do with public safety. It is state-sponsored cruelty. Our leaders are using this to score cheap political points.”

Ultimately, environmental concerns derailed the initial vision for the airfield in the 1970s. The runway was built as part of the Everglades Jetport plan to build a massive airport in the Everglades that would serve South Florida and the Gulf coast.

Opponents of the detention center’s construction are planning to protest outside the facility on Saturday morning. Rather than a snake-infested swamp, tribal leaders say the land is “sacred” and has protected the Miccosukee and Seminole people for generations.

“This place became our refuge in time of war. It provides us a place to continue our culture and traditions,” Miccosukee leader Betty Osceola wrote in a social media post announcing the demonstration.

 

Originally Published: June 27, 2025 at 3:27 PM EDT