By Elise Bennett, Center for Biological Diversity
As Gov. Ron DeSantis mugged for cameras at a recent event, he bragged about the Department of Homeland Security’s first deportation flights taking off from a mass detention center in the middle of America’s Everglades.
The governor also confirmed something we’ve known all along: Despite claims that this pop-up immigration prison is temporary and somehow not a major new project in one of our most sensitive and treasured natural places, “Alligator Alcatraz” isn’t going anywhere. And in DeSantis’ own words, “The cadence is increasing.”
It turns out that federal and state administrations with so little regard for human life that they detain immigrants in horrific conditions and joke that those who attempt to flee will be eaten by alligators care even less about the lands, waters and wildlife that sustain South Florida.
While Alligator Alcatraz’s remote location and surrounding wildlife are part of a weird and creepy fantasy where nature is weaponized to imprison thousands, make no mistake — the facility is the weapon, unleashing harm on immigration detainees and the vulnerable surrounding ecosystem alike.
Endangered Florida panthers and indigo snakes will be killed by the increasing vehicle traffic entering the facility. Wading wood storks risk being poisoned by thousands of gallons of jet fuel, wastewater and human waste stored at the site.
Rare Florida bonneted bats will struggle to feed amid the constant artificial light. Panthers will be stymied by 28,000 feet of barbed wire fencing.
The mass immigration detention center is a blight on Big Cypress National Preserve and our beloved Everglades. It was thrown together without any environmental review, despite the incredibly sensitive and complex ecosystem that surrounds it. These waters and wetlands are meant to be protected to support rare and endangered species.
Already, 20 to 30 of Florida’s endangered panthers, which number roughly 200 adults, are killed by cars each year. Expect that number to rise as endless lines of trucks bring in detainees and supplies to the site.
This project flies in the face of decades of efforts to restore the flow of water in the Everglades. The detention camp was placed in an area known to flood, putting detainees in danger, and hindering the flow of clean water to the southern part of the ecosystem.
Building a mass detention center in this place — rather than restoring the natural flow — risks undoing the hard work and billions of taxpayer dollars meant to fix Florida’s natural water-filter and a drinking-water source for millions.
What was once a quiet, rarely used practice airstrip has become a booming development. Trucks are entering the Big Cypress Preserve carrying fill material, asphalt, large diesel generators, fuel and artificial lighting — all of which degrade the environment and harm wildlife. Sewage and waste are trucked on and off the site creating a risk of spills.
Federal laws requiring environmental analyses exist for exactly this reason: to avoid preventable harm. These analyses were required by law before construction and operation began.
Not only was this critical review skipped entirely, but in court, the Trump administration is pretending its hands are clean of any environmental responsibility, claiming DeSantis has gone rogue and offered to enforce federal immigration law like a vigilante, without federal involvement.
They make these claims as if we didn’t see DeSantis proudly announce to news cameras that the Department of Homeland Security requested the facility, offered to pay for it, and is actively carrying out deportations from Alligator Alcatraz. As if we didn’t see Trump and Kristi Noem visit the site and tout the federal-state partnership.
It’s a pitiful argument that contradicts public statements about this disgraceful project.
My organization, Center for Biological Diversity, with Friends of the Everglades and attorneys at Coffey Burlington and Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit in June. We continue to fight for an injunction to stop activities at the site because of the massive threat to the Everglades and endangered species. The facility’s impact on the environment demands an urgent effort to shut it down before it’s too late.
National parks are one of America’s best ideas. This wasteful Everglades abomination surely is one of our worst. It disregards Floridians’ support for our public lands and exploits them for a project steeped in cruelty.
Elise Bennett is the Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. This opinion piece was originally published by the Orlando Sentinel, which is a media partner of The Invading Sea. Banner photo: President Donald Trump and other officials tour Alligator Alcatraz on July 1 (DHSgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).
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