A federal judge in Florida on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to construction at the so-called Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center in the Everglades, NBC News reported.
Environmental groups had sued federal and state officials and sought a temporary restraining order to “prevent further irreparable harm to Plaintiffs and the fragile area where Defendants are building this detention center.” The Trump administration argued in opposition that the plaintiffs failed to show that the detention center would harm wildlife or the enjoyment of natural environments.
The Associated Press reported that the facility can keep operating and holding immigration detainees but that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams barred new filling, paving or infrastructure for 14 days. The AP further reported that the Obama appointee said in court that she would issue a written order later on Thursday.
The Miami Herald reported that environmental experts had explained during a court hearing that the construction could harm the surrounding area, potentially driving away wildlife and endangering the ecosystem.
The plaintiffs argued in their complaint that the “hasty” construction of the mass detention facility “poses clear environmental impacts.” They said the government defendants broke environmental law “in their rush to build the center.” Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for expert analysis on the top legal stories of the week, including updates from the Supreme Court and developments in the Trump administration’s legal cases.
Jordan Rubin is the Deadline: Legal Blog writer. He was a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and is the author of “Bizarro," a book about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Before he joined MS NOW, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.
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