A judge in Florida heard arguments seeking an injunction to halt the operation and construction of an immigration detention center called «Alligator Alcrataz
Aug. 6 A federal judge in Florida on Wednesday heard arguments from two groups seeking an injunction to halt the operation and further construction of an immigration detention center in the Everglades called «Alligator Alcrataz.»
District Judge Kathleen Williams conducted a hearing in Miami on a lawsuit by environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe, claiming the state and federal government bypassed mandatory ecological reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act during construction.
They also said the detention facility, which now houses 1,000 detainees with plans for up to 5,000, was built in less than two weeks without public notice or comment, and didn’t comply with other statutes, including the Endangered Species Act.
The detention center, which is about 75 miles west of Miami and 44 miles southwest of Naple, is amid swampland that includes alligators, pythons, snakes and other predators.
Randy Kautz, an expert in Florida wildlife, said 120 to 230 endangered panthers are in the «core area» and increased human activity will harm reproduction.
«There has been a stable reproducing population of panthers in this area in this range at least over the last 30 years», he said in court. «Panthers have succeeded and resided here.»
Panthers were tracked in the 1,000 acres near the detention facility, which was built on a rarely used airstrip off U.S. 41 in Ochopee in Miami-Dade County near Collier County. The so-called Alligator Alley, which is part of Interstate 75, runs 80 miles across the state through the Everglades.
