‘Alligator Alcatraz’ migrant detention camp in Florida must temporarily halt construction, judge rules

MIAMI — A Florida judge ruled to temporarily halt operations at “Alligator Alcatraz,” the controversial migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, because the site’s construction skirted environmental laws.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams made the decision on Thursday after two days of testimony in Miami federal court.

The hearing comes after environmental groups sued in June to stop the facility, which opened in July on an airstrip located in the sensitive wetlands of Ochopee’s Big Cypress National Preserve, from operating.

The suit claimed the center was built without mandatory ecological reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act, without public notice or comment, and the government failed to comply with other state and federal statutes, including the Endangered Species Act.

The construction of the site —which came as part of the Trump administration’s cracking down on immigration — was hotly protested by environmental groups and Native Americans, as the Everglades is a unique, marshy habitat home to endangered and threatened species.

Christopher McVoy, an Everglades expert, environmental scientist, and board member of Friends of the Everglades — an Everglades preservation nonprofit and one of the parties who filed the suit, testified Thursday.

He said he visited the detention center site on June 28, when an incident commander showed him around and told him they were paving some areas. McVoy described photos of the area since construction on the facility began and said, “You’re looking at 11 acres of new pavement.” He also described an increase in traffic in the area.

Dillon Reio, a professional geologist in Florida who works for SCS engineers providing assessments of development projects, said his assessment of the “Alligator Alcatraz” plans showed it lacked “a cohesive storm water plan for the site,” while warning that runoff can create contaminants, and “there could be offsite impacts.”

On Wednesday, Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades, testified that more than 40,000 people made submissions on its website to oppose the detention center.

Samples testified that the group is concerned about the potential impacts of run-off, the industrial-style lights that are visible from 15 miles away despite a dark sky designation, and increased traffic.

“Driving out there myself many times, the increased traffic is visible. I saw two dead gators last time I visited, so definitely a difference in the area,” she told the court.

Jessica Namath, daughter of former NFL star Joe Namath — who was in attendance — also testified Wednesday. Namath, also a member of Friends of the Everglades, said that the detention facility has created light pollution and that the area looks “heartbreakingly different.”

“Alligator Alcatraz” has faced other legal action for alleged inhumane conditions and treatment of detainees.

The conditions were described as horrific by legal advocates and relatives of immigrant detainees, including cage-like units, mosquito infestations, and unsanitary conditions. NBC Miami has also reported on detainees’ and family members’ allegations of “inhumane conditions“: limited access to showers, spoiled food, and extreme heat.

Civil rights lawyers last month sought a temporary restraining order against the facility, claiming constitutional rights violations, alleging detainees have been prevented from meeting attorneys and are being held without charges.