By EFE
An appeals court allowed the immigration detention center Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz remains open and receive new inmates, after revoking a court order that ordered its closure for a short period of time last August following an environmental lawsuit.
The court stated that the environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe failed to prove that the site was under federal possess watch over, and therefore no expertise was necessary to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ will undergo an environmental assessment test.
The plaintiffs asked the court this month to restore a court ruling in August that ordered the closure of the detention centerlocated west of Miami, and which has remained blocked since the following month.
According to environmental groups, The center had to undergo an environmental impact analysis before its construction in the heart of the Everglades, an area of dense vegetation and full of wetlands with dozens of endemic species, in accordance with federal legislation.
But the judges indicated that this would only be a requirement if it were under federal jurisdiction, arguing that ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ expertise was financed with state money, so they established that the Florida district judge, Kathleen Williams, had exceeded its duties by ordering its temporary closure.
The governor of Florida, the Republican Ron DeSantishas always maintained that the funds for the construction and activity of the center, which was expressly erected last July, came from state funds.
The plaintiffs also denounced the opacity of the site, whose official number of detainees is unknown.
Eve Samples, executive director of the ‘Guests of the Everglades’ association, one of the plaintiffs, assured after the court’s decision that they will continue their fight, reaffirming that the prison had to undergo a environmental assessment test.
“We are exploring all available legal avenues to correct this injustice. Alligator Alcatraz will go down in history as a waste for taxpayers and a flagrant attack against the Everglades, and we hope to return to the District Court to advance our case and achieve its closure,” he said in statements reported by local media.
Keep reading:
- Judge orders Florida to release files on Alligator Alcatra immigration center
- Amnesty International documents overcrowding and mistreatment detected at Alligator Alcatrazz
