Trucks come and go from the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades. (AP) Federal officials have approved Florida’s request for a $608 million reimbursement to cover the costs of building and operating a controversial immigration detention centre in the Everglades, widely known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed in an email on Friday that the full amount had been awarded, according to the Associated Press (AP). However, the money has not yet been released. Stephanie Hartman, communications director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, told AP that the Federal Emergency Management Agency must first review the expenses before payments can be issued.
The approval could complicate ongoing legal battles. In August, a federal judge in Miami ordered Florida to wind down operations after ruling that the facility lacked proper environmental review. That injunction was temporarily blocked by an appellate court in Atlanta, which found that the requirement for a federal environmental study did not apply since Florida had not yet received federal funds.
The appellate panel added that the situation could change. “If the federal defendants ultimately decide to approve that request and reimburse Florida for its expenditures related to the facility, they may need to first conduct an EIS (environmental impact statement),” the judges wrote in their ruling last month.
President Donald Trump toured the Everglades site in July and said it could serve as a model for future detention centres as his administration works to expand facilities for deportations.
Environmental groups, who had sued the state and federal governments, said the reimbursement decision strengthens their case. Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told AP: “This is a federal project being built with federal funds that’s required by federal law to go through a complete environmental review. We’ll do everything we can to stop this.”
