Breaking News: Appeals Court rules that Alligator Alcatraz is back in business
The decision by a Miami federal judge to close down the Everglades prison camp has been put on hold
Alligator Alcatraz is the prison camp that just won’t die.
An appeals court today set aside a federal judge’s order requiring the dismantling of the hastily-built detention center in the Everglades and prohibiting the federal government from sending new prisoners there.
Miami District Judge Kathleen Williams on Aug. 21 effectively ordered Alligator Alcatraz closed down in response to lawsuits from environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe that had argued both the state and federal governments failed to follow the law requiring environmental studies before construction.
But Thursday, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta stayed that order in a split decision.
The panel’s decision does not mean the full appeals court will overturn Judge Williams’ ruling, only that her orders are paused.
And since Alligator Alcatraz operations were already winding down, it was unclear what the immediate impact of this order will be even though the appeals panel said the federal government could resume sending prisoners there.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier gloated on social media:
“The 11th Circuit not only blocked Judge (Kathleen) Williams’ order to close Alligator Alcatraz, but they blocked her from proceeding with the case until the appeal is complete. A win for Florida and President Trump’s agenda!”
Williams had ruled that construction of the tent city on the isolated Everglades landing strip “creates irreparable harm in the form of habitat loss and increased mortality to endangered species in the area.”
In granting the stay, the appeals court said Williams had misinterpreted a federal law requiring a review of potential environmental harms before building a major project. It said that because the Everglades detention center was entirely funded by Florida, and because the state operated the center, the National Environmental Policy Act doesn’t apply.
“Alligator Alcatraz is, in fact, like we’ve always said, open for business,” Gov. Ron DeSantis, said. “The mission continues, and we’re going to continue leading the way when it comes to immigration enforcement.”
DeSantis has already announced two more similar prison camps to house immigrants rounded up by I.C.E. One in northeast Florida that he’s dubbed Deportation Depot, and yet another in the far western part of the state to be called the Panhandle Pokey.
Stay tuned for the next prison camp in your neighborhood with yet another corny alliterative name.
J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. Share this email with your friends. They will love you for it.
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Burn it down