Latest news with #Miccosukee
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Judge who halted Alligator Alcatraz construction to weigh push to shut it down
Environmental advocacy groups that say Alligator Alcatraz could cause 'irreparable' harm to the Everglades will be back in Miami federal court on Tuesday to try to convince a judge that their concerns warrant temporarily shutting the immigration detention center down. Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and the Miccosukee Tribe are seeking a preliminary injunction to stop operations at the site, which was erected hastily over a month ago on an airstrip within the Big Cypress National Preserve. The groups sued the Trump and DeSantis administrations for, they say, dodging a federal law requiring environmental review. The injunction would stop the use of the site as a detention center and halt any further construction there until there's a verdict in the lawsuit. The hearing on the injunction started last Wednesday and stretched into Thursday before District Judge Kathleen Williams paused proceedings for several days. The environmental groups put expert witnesses on the stand to speak on the detention center's possible impacts to the wetland ecosystem surrounding the site, as well as witnesses who had been at the site before and after it became Alligator Alcatraz to lay out the physical changes around the area. Williams, after attempting to work out some scheduling conflicts, issued a temporary restraining order on construction at the site until Aug. 28 so new information on issues like paving or lighting at the site wouldn't date witness testimony as the hearing continues. READ MORE: Alligator Alcatraz could cause Florida panther habitat loss, expert says in court There are still many witnesses left to go on the groups' initial list for the hearing and the state and federal attorneys' list. Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, has yet to take the stand. The Miccosukee Tribe also hasn't had the opportunity yet to provide testimony from Tribe members, several of whom are directors of environmental initiatives for the Miccosukee. The Miccosukee have over a dozen tribal villages around Alligator Alcatraz, including a school bus stop 1,000 feet from the facility's entrance, according to court documents. On the state side, Ian Gadea Guidicelli, chief of response at the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is running the facility, is set to testify as of now. Dave Kerner is also on the list — he's the director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and will likely speak to whether there's been an increase in traffic around Alligator Alcatraz. Federal attorneys have only listed one witness of their own: Santiago Fuentes, assistant director of field operations at Immigration Enforcement and Customs. The federal attorneys have argued the Department of Homeland Security shouldn't even be a part of the case because they say the federal government is not involved in construction and operations at Alligator Alcatraz. Those claims have spurred further confusion about who's in charge and what laws or agreements govern the site. In order for Judge Kathleen Williams to issue an injunction, the environmental groups will have to prove that there will be irreversible damage to the environment if operations at the site aren't stopped, as well as a high likelihood of winning the case as a whole. The hearing will resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
09-08-2025
- Politics
Meet the Native American tribe that beat the Trump administration in court -- for now
When the news broke in Florida Thursday that a federal judge had blocked further construction at the migrant detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz," more than a hundred members of the Miccosukee Tribe were entering the fifth hour of a contentious community meeting. Curtis Esteban Osceola, a tribe member and attorney, interrupted the meeting to deliver the news of the unlikely victory. "It was a roar of applause," Osceola recounted to ABC News. "Everyone was very, very pleased that the judge granted the temporary restraining order." It's a temporary victory for an Indian tribe whose history has been partially shaped by broken promises from the United States. But temporary or not, Thursday's order put the Miccosukee -- a small tribe of less than a thousand members -- in the middle of the most high-profile use of an environmental law to challenge the Trump administration. Less than two months ago, the Miccosukee first heard rumors that the largely abandoned airport on the outskirts of their reservation would soon be transformed into a detention complex to serve a central role in President Donald Trump's mass immigration plan. Some members at first dismissed the idea as a joke, according to Kendal Osceola, a 26-year-old tribe member -- but they quicky grew concerned as the normally quiet U.S. Route 41 was soon filled with government vehicles and construction trucks. "When all this happened, you know, we felt alone. We felt isolated like our homelands were being trampled on," said Curtis Osceola, who serves as a senior executive policy adviser to the Miccosukee Tribe Chairman. The temporary detention center more than doubled the residential density in the area, and the rapid expansion of the site sparked concerns that the tribe, whose members live a few miles upstream, would be harmed. The dozens of industrial light towers used at the site also contributed to light pollution, endangering the Miccosukee's ability to see the stars for their annual calendar, according to Osceola. When the Miccosukee learned that a coalition of environmental groups had sued the state of Florida and the Trump administration for violating the National Environmental Policy Act, they quickly moved to join the case. "We just want generally just to be left alone, and so when something like this gets dropped on our doorstep, it's something that we had to act on," said Curtis Osceola. On Thursday, the environmental groups and tribe successfully convinced a federal judge in Miami to block any further construction at the site for two weeks while the case moves through the court. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Mary Williams has divorced the case from any arguments about the allegedly inhumane conditions at the camp, focusing solely on the environmental impact of the site on the Everglades and the endangered animals that call it home. The Miccosukee's lawyers are set to present evidence this week in federal court about how they say the tribe would be harmed. The plaintiffs are seeking more than a temporary halt of construction; they want a shutdown of the entire facility, and they hope to convince Judge Williams to issue a preliminary injunction. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has vowed to challenge the temporary restraining order while the complex continues "to send illegal aliens back to where they came from," Uthmeier says. "We're cautiously optimistic," said Curtis Osceola following the issuance of the temporary restraining order. "We love the win, but we know that there is a process. We're pretty attuned to the legal process, and we know that this isn't the end." For Kendal Osceola, a Miccosukee Embassy Fellow who grew up on the reservation and hopes to raise her son there, Thursday's news was a step in the right direction. "I want him to grow up experiencing almost the same thing as what I grew up with," she said of her son. "It's very much a step in the right direction. It's a small step, but that's usually how a lot of these big wins are made."
Gizmodo
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Gizmodo
Environmentalist Lawsuit Halts Construction of Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
Progress on Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' ground to a halt on Thursday, August 7, when a federal judge ordered a two-week ban on construction. The ruling follows a hearing in a lawsuit by environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians. The plaintiffs—Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Everglades, and the Miccosukee—allege that hasty construction of the facility in the Everglades unlawfully moved forward without public input or an environmental impact statement. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams temporarily barred installation of new industrial-style lighting, paving, filling, excavating, or any other site expansion at the facility while she considers the case, the Associated Press reports. 'We're pleased that the judge saw the urgent need to put a pause on additional construction, and we look forward to advancing our ultimate goal of protecting the unique and imperiled Everglades ecosystem from further damage caused by this mass detention facility,' Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples said following Williams's order, according to NPR. Florida opened the makeshift facility to accommodate the Trump administration's mass arrests of immigrants. The detention center sprung up on a lightly used, single-runway training airport in the Florida Everglades in June, coming together in just eight days. In its current capacity, it can hold up to 3,000 detainees in temporary tent structures, the Associated Press reports, though officials have said it will ultimately hold up to 5,000. In July, the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times obtained a list of more than 700 people who were either already detained at the facility or scheduled to be sent there. The temporary construction ban does not affect any current or incoming detainees, CBS News reports. The suit claims construction of Alligator Alcatraz threatens the Big Cypress Area, an ecologically sensitive part of the greater Everglades ecosystem that contains the Big Cypress National Preserve. This area serves as a habitat for numerous endangered and threatened species, including the Florida panther, Florida bonneted bat, Everglades snail kite, and wood stork, the suit states. The plaintiffs also allege the project would reverse more than $20 billion worth of state and federally funded environmental restoration efforts. The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians have lived within this region of the Everglades for generations and joined the suit to protect their native land, according to Inside Climate News. Ten Miccosukee villages sit within a 3-mile (5-kilometer) radius of the detention center, one of which is just 1,000 feet (300 meters) from the facility, ICN reports. 'This place, it's my home, and I wouldn't have any other home than the Everglades,' Betty Osceola, a 57-year-old tribe member, told ICN. 'I think the barbaric thing that is going on is what DeSantis and Trump are creating.' The plaintiffs' legal case hinges on their claim that Florida and the Trump administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to hold hearings, take public comment, or conduct an environmental impact study before breaking ground on the project. During the Thursday hearings, Justice Department attorney Marissa Priopato told Williams that federal law does not apply in this case because Alligator Alcatraz is controlled by Florida, NPR reports. Paul Schwiep, an attorney for the environmental groups, argued that the detention center wouldn't exist if not for the federal government's desire for a facility to hold detainees, according to the AP. Williams agreed that the detention facility was, at minimum, a joint partnership between the state and federal government. It's also worth noting that while Florida is covering the cost of construction and operations of the facility, the state is expected to seek reimbursement from the Trump administration, NPR reports. As these arguments play out in court over the next two weeks, the future of the project will remain in limbo.
Miami Herald
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miccosukee allowed to join lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz
A federal judge in Miami said Wednesday that she will allow the Miccosukee Tribe to join a lawsuit seeking to shut down Alligator Alcatraz over allegations that the Trump and DeSantis administrations dodged regulations while building the immigrant detention center in the Everglades. Over the objections of the state of Florida, District Judge Kathleen Williams said she found the tribe's arguments valid and would allow it to join Friends of the Everglades, the Center of Biological Diversity and Earthjustice in suing the state and federal governments. The Miccosukee requested to join the suit over a week ago. The suit claims the detention center, built hastily on a municipal airstrip in eight days and opened a month ago, should have undergone environmental review under a federal statute before opening. The groups have also asked for a temporary restraining order to shut down operations at the site until a proper review can be conducted. The detention center was built within the boundaries of the Big Cypress National Preserve, on the edge of tribal land. 'The Miccosukee have much to add given our close connection to the land, its ecosystems, and its wildlife that are currently being affected and displaced by the detention center,' Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress said in a statement. 'We look forward to participating in further proceedings and resolving this matter expeditiously.' The Miccosukee have over a dozen traditional Indian villages surrounding Alligator Alcatraz, including a school bus stop about 1,000 feet away from the facility's entrance, according to the tribe. In its court filings, the tribe argues the facility will likely affect village residents' daily lives due to increased traffic on the two-lane road outside it and possible water pollution. The Miccosukee argued in their motion to intervene that 'the construction and operation of a detention facility without necessary environmental studies potentially poses a substantial threat to the rights and interests of the Tribe and the livelihood of Tribal members who live adjacent thereto.'
CBS News
28-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
Fire destroys buildings at Miccosukee reservation, community vows to rebuild
A massive fire that tore through part of the Miccosukee Indian reservation Sunday night destroyed several buildings, damaged vehicles and left a deep mark on a tight-knit community. The fire erupted just before 8:40 p.m. at the Miccosukee Tiger Camp off Southwest 8th Street at 377th Avenue, prompting a swift multi-agency response that included Miccosukee police and security and more than 70 Miami-Dade firefighters. Sherry Tiger, whose grandfather Buffalo Tiger helped found the Tiger Camp, said three key community structures were lost: her aunt's home, a sewing and craft learning center, and a traditional Chickee building. "We still can't believe what we saw. A couple of buildings are down. This was a family camp with tradition and it has been here 40 to 50 years. It's my family camp," Tiger said. "We lost a sewing center for the community," she added. "A seamstress was in there where they teach people to do patch work and make clothing. We also lost a main Chickee building for the community where people go to eat and stay." Tiger said her aunt's family lost everything in the fire. "It is really tragic and very sad. I feel so bad for my aunt and her family. They lost everything. I have lived here my whole life," she said. Despite the loss, she emphasized the community's resilience: "That is what we do. We try to help each other." J.M. Richard, Assistant Fire Chief of Operations for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, said five buildings and multiple vehicles were damaged or destroyed. The blaze was elevated to a third alarm to bring in additional resources. "The fire was complicated by strong winds and down power lines throughout the street and the community hampering firefighting efforts," Richard said. He credited Miccosukee police and security for helping evacuate the area swiftly. "They assisted in the evacuation preventing injuries and I have to take my hat off to them," he said. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue released dramatic images and video from the scene, including aerial footage showing flames engulfing the area. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials said no injuries were reported and no foul play is suspected. Tiger said she believes the fire started by accident.
