Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration on Aug. 21 appealed a ruling made by a federal judge halting the expansion of the “Alligator Alcatraz” illegal immigrant detention center in the Everglades.
The ruling requires the state to stop sending detainees to the center and bars new construction there. It also orders that some aspects of the facility be dismantled as current detainees are moved elsewhere.
In response, DeSantis said at a news conference on Aug. 22 that the state remains committed to its mission of removing illegal immigrants despite the judge’s order on the usage of the detention facility.
The governor said the judge’s ruling was expected and that his office would “respond accordingly.”
“This is a judge that was not going to give us a fair shake. This was preordained,” he said. “This is not going to deter us. We’re going to continue working on the deportations, advancing that mission.”
DeSantis called Alligator Alcatraz a success, citing growing demand for similar facilities. The state plans to open a second detention center in Baker County. He said the new facility, to be named “Deportation Depot,” will have the capacity to hold up to 2,000 detainees.
“This mission is important,” he said. “You either have a country or you don’t. You have people that are in this country that have already been ordered to be removed by the current system and yet the previous administration didn’t want to do anything about it.”
The judge said the decision was driven by a desire to align with Florida environmental law protecting the endangered Everglades.
For several years, “every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades,” Williams wrote.
“This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises.”
