MIAMI — Non-profit environmental organizations Friends of the Everglades and Center for Biological Diversity continued their wait to hear the findings of U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams.
Her highly anticipated ruling is on a case about whether the state and federal government complied with environmental law before constructing a mass migrant detention and deportation facility in the Everglades.
Environmental groups had argued the government violated the law when it began to hastily pave over protected land in this ecologically sensitive area to operate a facility designed to help the Trump administration execute its mass deportation immigration policy.
The groups asked a federal judge to stop any further construction or use of the site for the purpose of immigration detention until the state and federal government defendants comply with the National Environmental Policy Act.
During federal court proceedings, a wetland ecologist told the judge at least 20 acres of the site had been newly paved with asphalt, presenting risks of runoff contaminating the surrounding area’s unique natural water system.
He added that “despite the possible presence of silt fencing on site,” the lack of a stormwater management system risked harm to the habitat and animals.
“I saw things like the silt fencing being knocked down, which is what is supposed to keep the Everglades clear and clean from things like leakage, from bathrooms, diesel tanks, gas tanks, fuel tanks, things like that,” U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost said.
Working to distance itself from the state-run facility, the attorney representing the federal government argued during one of the hearings that no environmental impact study was performed because it did not come up with the idea of placing an immigration detention center for federal detainees in the Everglades.
An attorney for the state told a judge they control the site, not the feds.
NEPA only applies to federal agencies, but in Judge Williams’ temporary restraining order —which she put in place Aug. 7, expiring Aug. 21, granting the plaintiffs’ TRO request to stop any additional industrial-style lighting, paving, filling, excavating, site preparation, or fencing — the judge pointed to the state’s agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which would trigger NEPA at the state-run facility.
“During argument, the federal defendants conceded that the project was operating under a 287(g) agreement between Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE),” wrote the judge, “whose federally deputized officers operate at the facility.”
Joining the suit was the Miccosukee Indians of Florida. An attorney representing the tribe during federal court hearings cited increased traffic and the fact that there are 10 tribal villages within a three-mile radius of the facility, including a school, hunting, and fishing.
The Big Cypress National Preserve is part of their ancestral lands. Tribal members have said the facility’s bright lights and increased activities also impact their access to sacred land and ceremonial functions.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told Local 10 News in July that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would largely reimburse Florida for its facility expenses. The total cost, the spokesperson said, is roughly $450 million per year.
“FEMA has roughly $625 million in Shelter and Services Program funds that can be allocated for this effort,” the spokesperson stated in part.
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