Several judges demanded that the U.S. and Florida governments provide information on how the migrant detention center Alligator Alcatraz (Alligator’s Alcatraz) operates. This comes as two separate lawsuits against the facility, located west of Miami, advance—one filed by migrant advocates and another by environmentalists.
Federal Judge Kathleen Williams, of the Southern District of Florida, ordered authorities to disclose the agreements between the state government and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for operating the center, which has held migrants since July 3.
Additionally, according to court documents available Tuesday, she requested “the most recent environmental impact study” of the site, which operates in a previously abandoned airport between the Everglades, a protected natural area with endangered species. This prompted the lawsuit from Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.
In the other case, Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II, also of the Southern District of Florida, authorized the plaintiffs—led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and detained migrants—to request that the government release agreements between agencies for operating the center.
Environmentalists and migrant advocates argue that authorities have not clarified who is primarily responsible for Alligator Alcatraz. As a result, the federal and Florida governments evade their environmental and migrant treatment responsibilities by claiming they lack jurisdiction, according to the allegations.
“This is an unprecedented situation where hundreds of detainees are cut off from communication. Without the ability to access the courts, under an authority that has never been explained and may not even exist,” stated the ACLU’s lawsuit, filed alongside Americans for Immigrant Justice.
Concerns from the organizations grew after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Friday that the DHS began operating deportation flights from the center, which includes an unused airport.
Environmental and civil rights groups are calling for the center’s closure. Currently, it has a capacity for 2,000 detainees and is expected to expand to 4,000, according to the Florida government.
Dozens of activists and relatives of detained migrants protested outside the facility last week, describing it as a “concentration camp” and a “dog cage.” Since its opening, they have documented 1,000 detainees, with six requiring hospitalizations.
Image: DiarioNY
