A divided three-judge panel in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave the state the green light to continue building and operating the detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz."
This decision pauses U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams' order to wind down operations at the detention center last month. Williams cited extensive evidence the facility harms the Everglades. It was hastily built without the required environmental review, according to a press release.
Elise Bennett is the lead attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit against Florida to shut down Alligator Alcatraz.
“It's heartbreaking, it's a gut punch," she said. "But we knew this wasn't going to be easy, and we're ready to move forward.”
Bennett said the court still needs to decide whether the order to halt development was lawful.
“We see a lot of political rhetoric from the defendants here, but this case isn't a game of political ping pong to us," she said. "It's standing up for the public's interest in a clean and healthy Everglades, and for the biodiverse community of species who have an inherent right to exist in this preserve without risk from harm from a mass detention center.”
A court filing said Florida will send detainees back to the facility.
Meanwhile, the state is preparing two other detention centers in North Florida: "Panhandle Pokey" in Panama City and "Deportation Depot" in Jacksonville, which Gov. DeSantis said on Friday is now open.
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
