Federal judge orders construction pause at Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ migrant detention center 

Construction aimed at expanding Florida’s remote migrant detention facility, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” must stop for at least 14 days, a federal judge ruled Thursday. 

Judge Kathleen M. Williams, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, ordered the construction pause in response to a lawsuit filed by several environmental groups arguing that federal agencies did not assess the potential impacts the facility may have on the wetlands and endangered species in the Florida Everglades. 

The facility can continue to operate and hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees, but new filling, paving or infrastructure may not be added for the next two weeks, Williams said during a hearing. 

“Today’s ruling by an activist judge will have no impact on immigration enforcement in Florida,” Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, wrote on X. “Alligator Alcatraz will remain operational, continuing to serve as a force multiplier to enhance deportation efforts.” 

DeSantis, in an X post, noted that “operations at Alligator Alcatraz are ongoing and deportations are continuing” despite the order. 

Alligator Alcatraz has the capacity for 2,000 detainees but will eventually hold 4,000, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management. 

The swampland detention center, built in eight days on 30-square-miles of land deep in the Florida Everglades, opened earlier this month after DeSantis used his emergency powers to order its construction. 

The property is outfitted with tent structures to house the illegal migrants and was built on the site of an old airport owned by Miami-Dade County. 

Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe had asked Williams to issue a preliminary injunction larger in scope than she ordered. They wanted operations at the facility halted as well, claiming the facility threatens billions of dollars’ worth of environmental restoration work done in the area. 

The plaintiffs’ argued that the construction of the facility violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of major construction projects.

Jesse Panuccio, an attorney for the state of Florida, countered that the construction and operation of Alligator Alcatraz were under the purview of the state of Florida, not the federal government, meaning that NEPA review was not required. 

Since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the plaintiffs claim, it makes no difference that the facility was built by the state of Florida and NEPA should still apply. 

“It’s a temporary but appropriate pause on any further destruction of a sensitive area, to allow the parties to present their evidence and arguments on the preliminary injunction request,” Paul Schwiep, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement to the New York Times. 

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Post that the lawsuit “ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade.” 

“It is another attempt to prevent the President from fulfilling the American people’s mandate for mass deportations,” she said in a statement. “These environmental activists — and activist judge — don’t care about the invasion of our country facilitated by the Biden administration, but the American people do.”

With Post wires