Miccosukee allowed to join lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz

A federal judge in Miami said Wednesday that she will allow the Miccosukee Tribe to join a lawsuit seeking to shut down Alligator Alcatraz over allegations that the Trump and DeSantis administrations dodged regulations while building the immigrant detention center in the Everglades.

Over the objections of the state of Florida, District Judge Kathleen Williams said she found the tribe’s arguments valid and would allow it to join Friends of the Everglades, the Center of Biological Diversity and Earthjustice in suing the state and federal governments.

The Miccosukee requested to join the suit over a week ago. The suit claims the detention center, built hastily on a municipal airstrip in eight days and opened a month ago, should have undergone environmental review under a federal statute before opening. The groups have also asked for a temporary restraining order to shut down operations at the site until a proper review can be conducted.

The detention center was built within the boundaries of the Big Cypress National Preserve, on the edge of tribal land.

“The Miccosukee have much to add given our close connection to the land, its ecosystems, and its wildlife that are currently being affected and displaced by the detention center,” Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress said in a statement. “We look forward to participating in further proceedings and resolving this matter expeditiously.”

The Miccosukee have over a dozen traditional Indian villages surrounding Alligator Alcatraz, including a school bus stop about 1,000 feet away from the facility’s entrance, according to the tribe. In its court filings, the tribe argues the facility will likely affect village residents’ daily lives due to increased traffic on the two-lane road outside it and possible water pollution.

The Miccosukee argued in their motion to intervene that “the construction and operation of a detention facility without necessary environmental studies potentially poses a substantial threat to the rights and interests of the Tribe and the livelihood of Tribal members who live adjacent thereto.”