Appeals court allows Alligator Alcatraz to continue to operate

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday to put a temporary hold on a lower court order and allow the Florida Everglades immigrant detention center, dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, to continue to operate. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams previously ordered the facility to shut down in early August after Friends of the Everglades and other advocacy groups raised environmental concerns. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit panel’s 2-1 ruling will allow the detention center to continue to operate as court proceedings around the environmental concerns proceed.

What are people saying? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated the ruling in a video statement released on Thursday, describing the initial injunction as implausible. Somehow, a leftist judge ruled that Florida couldn’t use its own property to help the federal government’s mission, he said. Now the mission continues, and Alligator Alcatraz is open for business, he added. The Department of Homeland Security also released a statement describing the ruling as a huge win for Americans and a return to common sense. This lawsuit was never about environmental impacts, but rather a tool for open-border activists to stop law enforcement from doing their jobs, DHS said.

Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples released a Thursday statement insisting that the fight would continue. Ultimate success is never easy, and this case is just getting started, she said. Any money Trump and DeSantis put towards this harmful facility will be wasted when it’s ultimately shut down, Samples added.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on DeSantis’ plans to build another immigrant detention center.