Even as Florida moves detainees from ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, activists fight for its permanent closure
Groups cite detainee maltreatment and degradation of surrounding land as reasons to close facility permanently Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email An alliance of environmental groups has welcomed reports that detainees have been moved from Florida ’s notorious “Al
Groups cite detainee maltreatment and degradation of surrounding land as reasons to close facility permanently
An alliance of environmental groups has welcomed reports that detainees have been moved from Florida ’s notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration jail, but have promised to press ahead with legal action to ensure its permanent closure and the restoration of the fragile Everglades wetlands where it is located.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement late on Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and authorities in Florida “have moved illegal aliens from the soft sided facility [and] transferred them to other facilities” for their safety, citing this month’s beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season.
But despite reports last month that the closure of the detention facility was imminent , neither the DHS nor state officials have confirmed any plans. An observer at the remote site on Wednesday said buses apparently carrying detainees continued to come and go, while supplies, including jet fuel, were still being delivered.
About 22,000 undocumented immigrants have passed through the jail since it opened last July, Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, said last month.
At a press conference on Wednesday, plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking the jail’s closure and full restoration of the site say they will return to district court in Miami this month in pursuit of their goals, citing the “lack of transparency” by the DHS.
“We don’t know what they’re doing, but we think the judge is going to get to the bottom of it and get definitive answers about what their long-term plans are,” said Paul Schwiep, an attorney representing groups including Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians.
“We’re not going to be done until the lights are off, the fences are down, the tents are gone and there’s a commitment that it will not be rebuilt.”
