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Business Standard
5 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Judge orders brief halt to construction at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz'
The facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving or infrastructure for 14 days AP Miami A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to construction at an immigration detention centre built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed Alligator Alcatraz as attorneys argue whether it violates environmental laws. The facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving or infrastructure for the next 14 days. US District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the ruling during a hearing and said she will issue a written order later Thursday. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe have asked Williams to issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction. The suit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars' worth of environmental restoration. Plaintiffs presented witnesses Wednesday and Thursday in support of the injunction, while attorneys for the state and federal government were scheduled to present next week. Following Thursday's testimony, Paul Schwiep, an attorney for the environmental groups, asked Williams to issue a temporary restraining order that would at least prevent any new construction at the site while the preliminary injunction was argued. Williams asked Florida attorney Jesse Panuccio if the state would agree to halt construction so that she wouldn't need to issue the restraining order. She pointed out that anything built at the site would likely remain there permanently, regardless of how the case was ultimately decided. Panuccio said he couldn't guarantee that the state would stop all work. This sparked an hour-long hearing about the temporary restraining order, which will be in place for the next two weeks while the still ongoing preliminary injunction hearing continues. The crux of the plaintiffs' argument is that the detention facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of major construction projects. Panuccio said during the hearing that although the detention centre would be holding federal detainees, the construction and operation of the facility is entirely under the state of Florida, meaning the NEPA review wouldn't apply. Schwiep said the purpose of the facility is for immigration enforcement, which is exclusively a federal function. He said the facility wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the federal government's desire for a facility to hold detainees. Williams said Thursday that the detention facility was at a minimum a joint partnership between the state and federal government. The lawsuit in Miami against federal and state authorities is one of two legal challenges to the South Florida detention centre which was built more than a month ago by the state of Florida on an isolated airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County. A second lawsuit brought by civil rights groups says detainees' constitutional rights are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has cancelled bond hearings. A hearing in that case is scheduled for August 18. Under the 55-year-old federal environmental law, federal agencies should have examined how the detention centre's construction would impact the environment, identified ways to minimise the impact and followed other procedural rules such as allowing public comment, according to the environmental groups and the tribe. It makes no difference that the detention centre holding hundreds of detainees was built by the state of Florida since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the suit said. Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week asked Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida's southern district is the wrong venue for the lawsuit since the detention centre is located in neighbouring Collier County, which is in the state's middle district, they said. Williams had yet to rule on that argument. The lawsuits were being heard as Florida Republican Gov Ron DeSantis' administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention centre at a Florida National Guard training centre in north Florida. At least one contract has been awarded for what's labelled in state records as the North Detention Facility. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CNBC
5 days ago
- Politics
- CNBC
Judge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center
A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to construction at an immigration detention center — built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" — as attorneys argue whether it violates environmental laws. The facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving or infrastructure for the next 14 days. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the ruling during a hearing and said she will issue a written order later Thursday. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe have asked Williams to issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction. The suit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars' worth of environmental restoration. Plaintiffs presented witnesses Wednesday and Thursday in support of the injunction, while attorneys for the state and federal government were scheduled to present next week. Following Thursday's testimony, Paul Schwiep, an attorney for the environmental groups, asked Williams to issue a temporary restraining order that would at least prevent any new construction at the site while the preliminary injunction was argued. Williams asked Florida attorney Jesse Panuccio if the state would agree to halt construction so that she wouldn't need to issue the restraining order. She pointed out that anything built at the site would likely remain there permanently, regardless of how the case was ultimately decided. Panuccio said he couldn't guarantee that the state would stop all work. This sparked an hour-long hearing about the temporary restraining order, which will be in place for the next two weeks while the still ongoing preliminary injunction hearing continues. The crux of the plaintiffs' argument is that the detention facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of major construction projects. Panuccio said during the hearing that although the detention center would be holding federal detainees, the construction and operation of the facility is entirely under the state of Florida, meaning the NEPA review wouldn't apply. Schwiep said the purpose of the facility is for immigration enforcement, which is exclusively a federal function. He said the facility wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the federal government's desire for a facility to hold detainees. Williams said Thursday that the detention facility was at a minimum a joint partnership between the state and federal government. The lawsuit in Miami against federal and state authorities is one of two legal challenges to the South Florida detention center which was built more than a month ago by the state of Florida on an isolated airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County. A second lawsuit brought by civil rights groups says detainees' constitutional rights are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Aug. 18. Under the 55-year-old federal environmental law, federal agencies should have examined how the detention center's construction would impact the environment, identified ways to minimize the impact and followed other procedural rules such as allowing public comment, according to the environmental groups and the tribe. It makes no difference that the detention center holding hundreds of detainees was built by the state of Florida since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the suit said. Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week asked Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida's southern district is the wrong venue for the lawsuit since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state's middle district, they said. Williams had yet to rule on that argument. The lawsuits were being heard as Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ′ administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention center at a Florida National Guard training center in north Florida. At least one contract has been awarded for what's labeled in state records as the "North Detention Facility."
Politico
5 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Federal judge orders two-week construction pause at ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
McVoy said he 'definitely' would have expected the detention facility to have agencies study the area before adding the pavement, which he described as not being porous. 'It's like pouring water on glass,' McVoy said of water landing on the new pavement. 'It doesn't go in; it runs off. And wherever it runs into is potentially a concern. That's why urban areas [near the Everglades] have strict requirements about how to have a plan to treat water.' Geologist Dillon Reio testified that he estimated 20 or more acres of new pavement had been added to the site. He said pollution chemicals would form as a result, damaging aquatic and terrestrial life. One of the defense's main arguments is that the environmental law in question, the National Environmental Policy Act, doesn't apply given that the facility was 'planned, executed, managed and funded' by the state and not the federal government, as Panuccio described it to the judge. Schwiep countered that all the plaintiffs had to show was that a 'federal actor is involved,' and Williams concluded it was a 'joint partnership.' Panuccio had asked the judge to consider factoring in that illegal immigration posed a harm to society and noted that detention centers had been overcrowded, necessitating temporary detainment facilities. Much of the state's pushback additionally rests on an argument that the airstrip was being used more frequently than the plaintiffs realize before the detention center was built. They leaned into assertions that the plaintiffs failed to show any new significant impact to the environment from the way the airstrip operated previously. They pointed to data showing an estimated 150 flights used the airstrip every day for flight training, as well as training for military aircraft, and argued through questioning that Reio's testimony wasn't specific enough because he used engineering drawings rather than accessing the site directly to study it. They also said he failed to use the initial flight data as a baseline for comparing the impact to the area and didn't personally assess the drainage setup. The state hasn't specified what types of aircraft were using the airstrip before, but one aerial photo showed what appeared to be a large commercial-style plane. The state's Emergency Management Division didn't respond to questions about how many flights are coming in and out of the airstrip now and whether the area is still being used as a training facility.
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Judge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz' detention center
MIAMI — A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to construction at an immigration detention center — built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' — as attorneys argue whether it violates environmental laws. The facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving or infrastructure for the next 14 days. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the ruling during a hearing and said she will issue a written order later Thursday. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe have asked Williams to issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction. The suit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars' worth of environmental restoration. Plaintiffs presented witnesses Wednesday and Thursday in support of the injunction, while attorneys for the state and federal government were scheduled to present next week. Following Thursday's testimony, Paul Schwiep, an attorney for the environmental groups, asked Williams to issue a temporary restraining order that would at least prevent any new construction at the site while the preliminary injunction was argued. Williams asked Florida attorney Jesse Panuccio if the state would agree to halt construction so that she wouldn't need to issue the restraining order. She pointed out that anything built at the site would likely remain there permanently, regardless of how the case was ultimately decided. Panuccio said he couldn't guarantee that the state would stop all work. This sparked an hour-long hearing about the temporary restraining order, which will be in place for the next two weeks while the ongoing preliminary injunction hearing continues. The crux of the plaintiffs' argument is that the detention facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of major construction projects. Panuccio said during the hearing that although the detention center would be holding federal detainees, the construction and operation of the facility is entirely under the state of Florida, meaning the NEPA review wouldn't apply. Schwiep said the purpose of the facility is for immigration enforcement, which is exclusively a federal function. He said the facility wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the federal government's desire for a facility to hold detainees. Williams said Thursday that the detention facility was at a minimum a joint partnership between the state and federal government. The lawsuit in Miami against federal and state authorities is one of two legal challenges to the South Florida detention center, which was built more than a month ago by the state of Florida on an isolated airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County. A second lawsuit brought by civil rights groups says detainees' constitutional rights are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Aug. 18. Under the 55-year-old federal environmental law, federal agencies should have examined how the detention center's construction would impact the environment, identified ways to minimize the impact and followed other procedural rules such as allowing public comment, according to the environmental groups and the tribe. It makes no difference that the detention center holding hundreds of detainees was built by the state of Florida since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the suit said. Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week asked Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida's southern district is the wrong venue for the lawsuit since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state's middle district, they said. Williams had yet to rule on that argument. The lawsuits were being heard as Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention center at a Florida National Guard training center in north Florida. At least one contract has been awarded for what's labeled in state records as the 'North Detention Facility.' Fischer writes for the Associated Press.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Judge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz' detention center
MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to construction at an immigration detention center — built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' — as attorneys argue whether it violates environmental laws. The facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving or infrastructure for the next 14 days. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the ruling during a hearing and said she will issue a written order later Thursday. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe have asked Williams to issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction. The suit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars' worth of environmental restoration. Plaintiffs presented witnesses Wednesday and Thursday in support of the injunction, while attorneys for the state and federal government were scheduled to present next week. Following Thursday's testimony, Paul Schwiep, an attorney for the environmental groups, asked Williams to issue a temporary restraining order that would at least prevent any new construction at the site while the preliminary injunction was argued. Williams asked Florida attorney Jesse Panuccio if the state would agree to halt construction so that she wouldn't need to issue the restraining order. She pointed out that anything built at the site would likely remain there permanently, regardless of how the case was ultimately decided. Panuccio said he couldn't guarantee that the state would stop all work. This sparked an hour-long hearing about the temporary restraining order, which will be in place for the next two weeks while the still ongoing preliminary injunction hearing continues. The crux of the plaintiffs' argument is that the detention facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of major construction projects. Panuccio said during the hearing that although the detention center would be holding federal detainees, the construction and operation of the facility is entirely under the state of Florida, meaning the NEPA review wouldn't apply. Schwiep said the purpose of the facility is for immigration enforcement, which is exclusively a federal function. He said the facility wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the federal government's desire for a facility to hold detainees. Williams said Thursday that the detention facility was at a minimum a joint partnership between the state and federal government. The lawsuit in Miami against federal and state authorities is one of two legal challenges to the South Florida detention center which was built more than a month ago by the state of Florida on an isolated airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County. A second lawsuit brought by civil rights groups says detainees' constitutional rights are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Aug. 18. Under the 55-year-old federal environmental law, federal agencies should have examined how the detention center's construction would impact the environment, identified ways to minimize the impact and followed other procedural rules such as allowing public comment, according to the environmental groups and the tribe. It makes no difference that the detention center holding hundreds of detainees was built by the state of Florida since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the suit said. Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week asked Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida's southern district is the wrong venue for the lawsuit since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state's middle district, they said. Williams had yet to rule on that argument. The lawsuits were being heard as Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ′ administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention center at a Florida National Guard training center in north Florida. At least one contract has been awarded for what's labeled in state records as the 'North Detention Facility.'
