Florida's Everglades immigration detention center nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz" is expected to reach zero detainees within days as state officials accelerate removals. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a preliminary injunction ordering Florida and the federal government to stop bringing new detainees and wind down operations within 60 days following a lawsuit by two environmental groups and the Miccosukee tribe. Volunteers observed multiple buses removing detainees and Congressman Maxwell Frost reported 336 detainees during a tour. Plaintiffs argued rapid construction likely violated federal requirements for public input, consideration of alternatives and an environmental impact statement. Florida and the federal government have appealed.
In an email sent to a South Florida rabbi inquiring about serving as a chaplain at the facility, the director of Florida's Department of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, replied, "We are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days." Asked Wednesday about the declining population at the detention center, Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis said, "I do think they've increased the pace of the removals from there."
Since then, Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, says volunteers monitoring the site have seen at least three buses containing detainees leaving the facility. "It's a relief that the state appears to be phasing out operations ... in compliance with the judge's order," she says. "When the last detainee leaves, the state should turn off the lights and shut the door behind them because it's not an appropriate place for a detention center."
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