Environmental Groups Sue to Block Migrant Detention Center Rising in Florida Everglades

Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday to block a migrant detention center being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades. The lawsuit seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal law.

There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, according to the lawsuit filed in Miami federal court. The center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is set to begin processing people who entered the US illegally as soon as next week, the governor said Friday on Fox & Friends.

The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers, and other temporary buildings at the Miami-Dade County–owned airfield in the Big Cypress National Preserve about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. The lawsuit names several federal and state agencies as defendants.