The Miccosukee Tribe officials say they are moving forward with their legal battle against the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention facility in the Everglades, arguing that Florida’s acceptance of more than $600 million in federal funds for the facility represents a major concession that strengthens their case.
The Tribe remains "strongly opposed to Alligator Alcatraz’s unpermitted and unlawful construction, on public lands seized by State emergency order," Tribal officials said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Tribe said Florida accepted $608 million in federal funds — nearly $200 million more than original estimates—to build and manage the facility, which was designed to detain suspected undocumented immigrants arrested by federal immigration agents.
The failure of Florida officials to disclose that they had applied for federal reimbursement for "Alligator Alcatraz" was first reported in October after an appellate court panel had put on hold a judge's order to wind down operations at the facility, according to documents filed in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit against the state of Florida had been paused due to the recent federal government shutdown but has now resumed.
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It is one of three federal lawsuits filed in opposition to the creation of the Alligator Alcatraz immigrant detention center.
The Miccosukee Tribe joined a lawsuit with two environmental groups, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, alleging that federal and state agencies didn't follow federal law requiring an environmental review for the detention center in the middle of sensitive wetlands.
Another lawsuit filed by detainees against federal and state governments claims that detainees at Alligator Alcatraz are not getting adequate access to attorneys. A federal judge on Thursday denied the request in that lawsuit for a preliminary injunction to close Alligator Alcatraz, saying the detainee who asked for the order hadn't shown he was suffering irreparable harm at the facility.
A third lawsuit alleges immigration is a federal issue and that Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state have no authority to operate the facility.
The detention camp's location in the Big Cypress National Preserve, argues Tribal officials and environmental groups, poses substantial risks to the Miccosukee community and the fragile Everglades ecosystem. The Tribe notes 11 villages lie within three miles of the detention center.
Said Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress in a statement: “The Miccosukee Tribe is at home in the Everglades and the Big Cypress. We have a Tribal constitutional duty to defend our homelands from environmental degradation and defend our people from big government overreach.”
“Like all Floridians, we want safe schools, a safe environment, and we don’t want to see wasteful government spending destroying our public lands without any environmental review,” Talbert said. “We are confident that the truth will prevail.”
