Court of Appeal allows “Crocodile Orcart” detention center to resume operations

Federal Court of Appeals on Thursday suspended orders for a lower judge to terminate operations indefinitely at the Crocodile Alcatraz Immigration Detention Center Florida Everglades.

The panel voted 2-1 to allow the facility to continue detaining immigrant detainees.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a preliminary injunction to prevent Florida from further expanding its detention center and ordered a reduction in action by the end of October. The judge also ordered the state to transfer detainees to other facilities and remove equipment and fences.

The rulings come after lawsuits filed by friends in the Everglades, the Center for Biodiversity and the Mixoki Tribe, accusing state and federal officials of not complying with federal law, requiring an environmental review of the detention center, which the group believes threatens sensitive wetlands that protect flora and fauna.

Federal judge blocks Florida from further expanding immigration detention centers in “Crocodile Alcatraz”

“It’s a heartbreaking blow to the Everglades in the United States and every creature there, but the case isn’t even over yet,” Elise Bennett, a senior attorney at the Center for Biodiversity, said in a statement.

In June, the governor Ron DeSantis The administration quickly established the facility at a single-run training airport in the central Everglades to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to detain and deport immigrants. DeSantis said the facility’s location is designed to block escape plans.

Trump visited the facility in July and suggested it could be used as a model for future facilities nationwide Massive eviction program.

DeSantis responded to Thursday’s ruling, claiming that the facility will soon be wrong.

He said on social media: “We said we would fight.

Litigation threatens to subvert Crocodile Alcatraz operations

President Donald Trump visited the facility in July and suggested it could be used as a model for future facilities nationwide to support his massive deportation program. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

this Department of Homeland Security The ruling describes it as “a victory for the American people, the rule of law and common sense.”

“This lawsuit has never been the environmental impact of turning the development airport into a detention center,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. “It has and will always be about open activists and judges trying to prevent law enforcement from removing dangerous criminal foreigners from our communities.”

Florida officials said in court documents this week that it would resume accepting detainees at the facility if accommodation requests were approved.

Although the plaintiff said the case was not over yet, it claimed that the facility would eventually be closed.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit against the “Crocodile Orcart” said the case is far from over, claiming that the facility will eventually be closed. (Getty Image)

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“At the same time, if the DeSantis and Trump governments choose to upgrade operations in detention centers, they will throw good money in bad situations because of this unpopular facility (which will cause damage to Everglades and will eventually close),” Everglades executive director Eve Samples said in a statement.

The plaintiff argued that because Florida provided funding for the project itself and the federal government has not contributed directly, the Alligator Alcatraz also falls under the requirement of federal environmental review, even if it accommodates federal detainees.

In Thursday’s ruling, the appeals court largely accepted the demands.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.