MIAMI— An appeals court today granted a federal request to pause appellate court proceedings in a lawsuit challenging the massive detention center in the Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The pause effectively halts the lawsuit brought by conservation groups.
Citing the government shutdown, the federal government sought a stay of its appeal, claiming its lawyers have been furloughed. Today’s decision means the Trump administration and the state of Florida can continue polluting, destroying and degrading the sensitive ecosystems and endangered wildlife in Big Cypress National Preserve, even as much of the federal government remains closed during the budget shutdown.
“With this delay, the government is dodging accountability and imposing even more harm on the fragile Everglades,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “Alligator Alcatraz continues to operate in defiance of the law, and we're more determined than ever to shut the facility down to protect wild Florida. With justice delayed in the courts, we plan to stand alongside fellow Floridians and members of the Miccosukee Tribe outside the gates this Sunday to show our resolved opposition to this destructive facility.”
There will be a peaceful demonstration in the Big Cypress National Preserve across from the gates of the detention facility on Sunday, Oct. 26, from 2 to 5 p.m., followed by the weekly interfaith vigil.
“The Trump administration is trying to disable every lever of justice so it can keep breaking the law, hurting both people and the places we love most in the process,” said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Unfortunately for Trump and his sycophants we’re not going away — we’ll be here when they’re ready to face us in court over this major threat to our beautiful Everglades.”
“Make no mistake, the federal government is litigating hundreds if not thousands of cases around the country during the shutdown,” said Tania Galloni, managing attorney for the Florida office of Earthjustice. “They don’t want to litigate this one because so far they’ve been able to avoid accountability for trampling over environmental protections.”
“Apparently, the government has sufficient money and manpower to operate a detention center in the heart of the Everglades to detain foreign born workers, but not enough to file a brief in court to justify its conduct, which the trial court held unlawful,” said Paul Schwiep, of Coffey Burlington.
The Everglades is the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, the largest continuous stand of sawgrass prairie, and the most significant breeding ground for wading birds in North America. In 2010 it was designated as an endangered UNESCO World Heritage site.
