MIAMI (AP) — The fate of a makeshift immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” hung in the balance last week as a federal judge considered whether building on sensitive wetlands violated environmental laws.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered a 14-day halt on additional construction at the site while witnesses testified at a hearing, part of a lawsuit seeking to halt operations and further construction. The temporary order doesn’t include any restrictions on law enforcement or immigration enforcement activity.
The judge concluded a multiday hearing on Wednesday without making an immediate decision on whether to issue a preliminary injunction.
President Donald Trump toured the facility last month and suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide.
Environmental groups and a Native American tribe have sued over the facility, saying it was hastily set up without the environmental impact considerations needed for all federal projects, even though it deals with immigration, a federal matter.
“It just flies in the face of what NEPA requires,” said Paul Schwiep, an attorney for the environmental groups, referring to the National Environmental Policy Act.
Florida and the Trump administration argue that the state is building and operating the detention center, so those rules about an environmental review don’t apply.
Adam Gustafson, an attorney for the federal government, said during the hearing’s closing arguments that the federal government only plays an advisory role at the facility.
The judge earlier this month said the center was, at a minimum, a joint partnership between the state and federal government.
The first phase of the facility opened in July atop a lightly used, single-runway training airport. Fewer than 1,000 detainees were being held there as of last week. It’s designed to eventually hold up to 3,000 people.
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