A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked a judge’s order requiring Florida and the Trump administration to wind down operations at “Alligator Alcatraz” and dismantle parts of the swampland migrant detention center.
In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of judges on the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the State of Florida and the Department of Homeland Security’s request to stay an Aug. 21 preliminary injunction issued by Miami-based District Judge Kathleen Williams – an appointee of former President Barack Obama – requiring basic utilities and supporting infrastructure at the facility to be removed within 60 days.
The appeals court panel also blocked Williams from barring federal and state officials from sending any additional detainees to the remote facility, and from proceeding with the case itself, pending appeal.
“It is entirely unclear to us, moreover, how the district court concluded that it could order the proactive dismantling of the Facility by way of a mandatory preliminary injunction,” Judge Barbara Lagoa, an appointee of President Trump, wrote in her opinion for the appellate court..
Judge Elizabeth Branch, a Trump appointee, sided with Lagoa.
The underlying lawsuit against the State of Florida and DHS was brought by environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians.
The plaintiffs argued that federal agencies did not assess the potential impacts the facility may have on the wetlands and endangered species in the Florida Everglades, as well as the tribe’s water and food supply, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
“If there were a substantial likelihood that the Plaintiffs would succeed on their NEPA claim (and as we’ve already explained, there isn’t), the appropriate remedy at this stage might, at most, have been to enjoin the further use of or construction at the Facility pending completion of an [Environmental Impact Study], not the affirmative expenditure of public monies to take it apart,” Lagoa wrote.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed that the facility is “open for business” shortly after the appeals court ruling.
“The mission continues on immigration enforcement,” the governor said in a video posted on X.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier described the ruling as “a win for Florida and President Trump’s agenda!”
“Victory secured against activist judge who held me in contempt!” Uthmeier wrote on X. “The 11th Circuit not only blocked Judge Williams’ order to close Alligator Alcatraz, but they blocked her from proceeding with the case until the appeal is complete.”
In dissent, Judge Adalberto Jordan, an Obama appointee, argued that the majority improperly ignored evidence in the case and declined to consider the lower court’s “determination on irreparable harm” for the Indian tribe and the environment.
Alligator Alcatraz has the capacity for 2,000 detainees but was in the process of expanding to hold up to 4,000 when the district court halted construction.
The detention center, outfitted with tent structures to house illegal migrants, was built in eight days on the site of an old airport owned by Miami-Dade County.
It opened in July after DeSantis used his emergency powers to order its construction.
