Alligator Alcatraz, a recently opened Florida detention facility in the Everglades, faces mandatory evacuation and closure within 60 days and could be emptied within days. A court order followed a Miccosukee Tribe lawsuit alleging violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and denied a stay request. Detainees described conditions as substandard and one compared the stay to torture. State officials maintain that the Department of Homeland Security controls processing and timing of detainee movements and argue for continued need for state-run facilities amid an increase in deportations. The court cited broad pledges to Everglades restoration and upheld statutory protections.
In an Aug. 22 email first obtained by the Associated Press, Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie told South Florida Rabbi Mario Rojzman that we are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days. Rojzman and an executive assistant confirmed the contents of the email to The Associated Press. Alligator Alcatraz was opened just last month, but was ordered last week to ship out all detainees and close within 60 days.
The order stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the Miccosukee Tribe, which accused the state of violating the National Environmental Policy Act. Every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades, Judge Kathleen M. Williams wrote in the order. This Order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises.
Detainees of Alligator Alcatraz have described the conditions at the Florida facility as substandard. One detainee recently described their stay there as a type of torture in comments to CNN. While speaking to the press on Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said it is Department of Homeland Security officials who decide on the pacing of when to process and move individuals detained at Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades. The governor insisted there is still a need for these state facilities as deportations ramp up, touting his upcoming Deportation Depot in north Florida.
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