A federal judge on Thursday suspended construction at the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center in Florida for two weeks as groups pursue claims it doesn’t comply with a bedrock federal environmental law.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the temporary order after a two-day hearing in her Miami courtroom, the plaintiffs said.
It prevents filling, paving, lighting and installation of additional infrastructure. Immigration authorities can still detain migrants at the facility.
The temporary measure comes as the judge weighs whether to grant an indefinite pause. Williams is an appointee of former President Obama.
Surrounded by the Florida Everglades, Alligator Alcatraz opened in early July and has the capacity to house thousands of migrants. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has cast it as a model for state-run immigrant detention facilities elsewhere in the country.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Everglades sued in late June to stop the construction, claiming the project runs afoul of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). The statute requires the federal government to consider environmental consequences before approving major infrastructure projects.
“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,” Eve Samples, executive director at Friends of the Everglades, said in a statement.
The federal government has cast Alligator Alcatraz as a state operation where NEPA doesn’t apply. The Justice Department also asserts that Williams’ court is the wrong venue, because Alligator Alcatraz is located elsewhere in Florida.
Immigration organizations and a group of detainees are meanwhile suing over allegations that the administration is not providing migrants with attorney access at the facility. That case is set to head to a hearing on Aug. 18 before a different federal judge.
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