A federal judge is reportedly considering shuttering Alligator Alcatraz over concerns involving what critics say is a lack of environmental impact studies.
The judge is hearing arguments on Wednesday — over one month from the grand opening of the migrant detention facility, which has since held some of the worst of the worst migrants, including an MS-13 gang member with the nickname “Satan” as well as a Cuban migrant arrested for slitting the throat of an elderly woman in Key Largo, Florida.
According to ABC News, the judge is “set to hold an evidentiary hearing over whether to block operations at the controversial facility because construction of the site allegedly bypassed federally required environmental impact studies”:
The hearing — at which federal, state, and tribal officials are expected to testify — comes amid heightened scrutiny of the facility, which was once touted as a “one-stop shop to carry out President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.”
ABC News adds that the hearing on Wednesday is ” limited to environmental issues — including impacts on the nearby Big Cypress National Preserve” and “could result in a federal judge ordering the facility to be shut down until the required environmental impact studies are conducted.”
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The facility, however, is not brand new. Rather, state and federal officials — working together — transformed the existing Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility into a facility to house, process, and deport criminal illegal aliens.
The facility, which has roughly 158,000 square feet of housing, was constructed with a “fully aluminum frame structure rated for winds of 110 miles an hour, or a high end Category 2,” according to Florida Division of Emergency Management head Kevin Guthrie
“[The] power supply is fully redundant with backup generators in place. We put a staff village here on site with a capacity of 1,000,” he said, noting that it also has air conditioning, a 24/7 medical facility and pharmacy, access to indoor and outdoor recreational yards, legal and clergy support services, and laundry.
According to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), 600 migrants have already been deported from Alligator Alcatraz.
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“I don’t think you’ve seen any state in the country work more closely with these federal agencies to fulfill a very key mission, a mandate from the American people after the 2024 election, to get this job done,” DeSantis announced during a press conference last week.
“Thus far, we’ve had over 600 that have been deported from Alligator Alcatraz by ICE and that cadence is starting to rapidly increase,” he added.
This comes as Florida preps to open another migrant facility in the northern part of the state at Camp Blanding and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces another state partnership — this time with Indiana in creating “The Speedway Slammer.”
