Florida makes one thing absolutely clear after Obama judge orders teardown of Alligator Alcatraz

An Obama judge issued an injunction on Thursday ordering Florida not only to halt the arrival of new detainees to Alligator Alcatraz but to begin dismantling the facility.

The Sunshine State isn't rolling over, and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' office indicated that President Donald Trump's deportation campaign will continue as planned.

Quick background

After DeSantis tasked state leaders with identifying places for a new detention facility to temporarily house outbound criminal noncitizens, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier made a public pitch in favor of "Alligator Alcatraz" — "an old, virtually abandoned airport facility" in the Everglades that could serve as "the one-stop shop to carry out President Trump's mass deportation agenda."

Uthmeier got his way, confirming in June that the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport would indeed become home to America's first state-run facility for federal immigration detainees — a facility that the Department of Homeland Security told Blaze News would ultimately house up to 5,000 beds for illegal aliens in soft and hardened structures.

Within weeks, the airport's 10,499-foot runway was crowded with tents and unsavory characters set for deportation.

As with virtually all effective initiatives related to the detention and deportation of criminal noncitizens, Alligator Alcatraz's development was challenged by liberal activists.

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Blaze Media illustration. Note: This is a Blaze Media illustration, not the actual facility.

One of the legal efforts to shut down the camp was launched on June 27 by two environmental groups, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.

According to the plaintiffs, Alligator Alcatraz was being operated in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental review processes in cases of federal actions that significantly impact the environment — processes the environmentalists claim had not been undertaken.

Florida Division of Emergency Management Deputy Director Keith Pruett pointed out that the environmentalists' concerns were overblown and that the airport was already active, permanently lit — one of the environmentalists concern-mongered about possible light pollution — and home to existing buildings.

The lawsuit further alleged that Florida's involvement in the project through the Florida Division of Emergency Management exceeded the agency's authority and that Miami-Dade County unlawfully permitted the use of the airport as a detention facility.

Obama judge weighs in

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams made clear in her 82-page order on Thursday that she was persuaded neither by the Trump administration's argument that "the significant national interest in combating unlawful immigration favors allowing Florida to continue the development and use of [the detention camp]" nor by Florida's assertion that the facility was necessary because other facilities are at capacity.

Williams, an Obama appointee, suggested that the perceived need for Alligator Alcatraz "fails to explicate the decision to place the detention camp in the Everglades."

'We're going to continue to do what we need to do to help the Trump administration remove illegal aliens from our country.'

Having ordered a temporary pause weeks earlier, Williams formally barred both the Trump administration and state officials from installing any additional lighting at the facility; undertaking any expansion efforts, including erecting additional tents or buildings; and bringing any new detainees to the site.

Her order allows, however, for modification or repairs to existing facilities if executed for the sole purpose of "increasing safety or mitigating environmental or other risks at the site."

The Obama judge further ordered Florida and the Trump administration to dismantle the temporary fencing, lighting fixtures, generators, and waste receptacles installed to support the project within 60 days.

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Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

"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," wrote Williams. "This Order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises."

Friends of the Everglades celebrated the ruling.

Eve Samples, executive director of the group, stated, "This decision sends a clear message that environmental laws must be respected by leaders at the highest levels of our government — and there are consequences for ignoring them."

Florida fights back

DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Blaze News, "This ruling from an activist judge ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade. It is another attempt to prevent the president from fulfilling the American people’s mandate to remove the worst of the worst, including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, terrorists, and rapists, from our country."

"This activist judge doesn’t care about the invasion of our country facilitated by the Biden administration, but the American people do," continued McLaughlin. "We have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side.”

Florida has appealed the order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

DeSantis told Fox News he knew the "fix was in" and that Williams "was not giving us a fair shake."

"We totally expected an adverse ruling," said DeSantis. "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."

Blaze News has reached out to DeSantis' office for further comment.

While the fate of Alligator Alcatraz is up in the air, DeSantis' office made clear that there's no slowing down the deportation train.

Alex Lanfranconi, DeSantis' communications director, noted, "The deportations will continue until morale improves."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!