Video above: DeSantis opens new immigration centre in Florida Panhandle
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – A federal court of appeals panel on Thursday put a hold on hold on a lower court judge’s order to abolish the operation of the Florida Everglades immigration detention center, known as the “Alligator Alcatraz.”
A three-judicial panel of Atlanta decided to maintain the federal judge’s order as the 2-1 vote pending the outcome of the appeal.
Miami US District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a temporary injunction last month ordering operations at the facility by the end of October.
Williams’ decision was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by the Everglades Friends, the Biodiversity Center, and the Microske tribe.
In late June, Republican administration, Ron DeSantis, built the facility on an isolated runway surrounded by wetlands, to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to illegally deport Americans. The governor said the sturdy, remote Everglades location, like the California island prisons, named after by the Republicans, is intended as a deterrent to escape.
State and federal defendants appeal Williams’ ruling and are seeking it to be held back. Florida said this week in court documents that it plans to resume accepting detainees at facilities if their stay is granted.
The federal government claims that despite Florida seeking federal grants to fund a portion of it, it is not liable to the detention center because it hasn’t spent cents building or operating the facility. Florida argues that the environmental impact statements required by federal law do not apply to states.
