Federal Judge Blocks ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ from Expanding Further

A federal judge has blocked the “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention center from expanding further after issuing a preliminary injunction.

The preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams formalized a previous halt she order two weeks ago, per Fox News. Opponents of the detention center claimed that further construction violated environmental laws.

Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe said that further construction and operations at the facility should be stopped until state and federal officials complied with environmental laws. Their lawsuit argued that the detention center threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that have protected plants and animals and that it would reverse billions of dollars in environmental restoration.

Attorneys for the state and federal governments claimed that the construction and operation of the facility was under the state of Florida despite its use for holding federal detainees, meaning the federal environmental law would not apply.

The judge found that the detention center was at least a joint partnership between the state and federal government.

In her ruling, Williams said that fencing, lighting, and generators should be removed and that only current detainees should be brought into the facilities. Repairs and modifications to the current facilities are still allowed “solely for the purpose of increasing safety or mitigating environmental or other risks at the site.”

“What is apparent, however, is that in their haste to construct the detention camp, the State did not consider alternative locations,” Williams said.

RELATED: We NEED Alligator Alcatraz!

Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for the Florida attorney general’s office, condemned the ruling.

“Just this week, a judge in the same district as Judge Williams refused to hear a case because the Southern District of Florida was the improper venue for suits about Alligator Alcatraz,” said Redfern. “Once again, she oversteps her authority, and we will appeal this unlawful decision.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will appeal and be successful in the end.

“We totally expected an adverse ruling,” he told Fox News. “And we also knew we were going to immediately appeal and get that decision stayed. So we will ultimately be successful in this. It’s not going to stop our resolve. We’re going to continue to do what we need to do to help the Trump administration remove illegal aliens from our country. You know, that’s the mandate that they have. So we anticipated this, but I don’t think it’s going to be insurmountable in the end.”