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The 'Alligator Alcatraz" operations can continue, a divided appeals court rules

The federal appeals court allowed "Alligator alcatraz", the federal detention center for migrants, to resume its operations on Thursday. This decision overturned a lower court's ruling ordering the facility to stop accepting new detainees as well as halting construction.

The 11th U.S. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled with a divided opinion that the Trump administration will likely prevail in a court battle against environmental groups who claim the facility threatens the Everglades' wildlife and the Everglades itself. Two judges supported the Trump administration and one judge disagreed.

The majority of the court ruled that this project, which was funded by Florida state funds, did not require the environmental review required for federally-funded construction projects.

The court found that although both Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nuem, have stated the federal government would pay for the expansion of the detention facility there was no evidence to show federal funds were used.

DeSantis stated in a social media video on Thursday that Trump's immigration enforcement was ready to be supported by the facility.

In a post on social media, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security referred to this ruling as a "huge win".

DHS stated that "this lawsuit was never about environmental impacts from turning an airport developed into a detention center." It has always been about open-borders activists, judges and other people trying to prevent law enforcement from removing criminal aliens who are dangerous from our communities.

Friends of the Everglades is one of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit. It stated on its website the detention centre was built in a hurry and would cause environmental damage to an important stretch of American wilderness.

The facility, located 60 km (37 miles) west of Miami, is a subtropical wetland home to alligators. Crocodiles are also present. This is the imagery the White House used to demonstrate its resolve to remove migrants who it believes were wrongly permitted to remain in the U.S. by former President Joe Biden. According to court documents, the detention center was built for $250 million and spans over 18 acres (7 hectares). It is located on a site in Miami-Dade County (formerly Collier County) that used to be a "small, but busy working airport". According to the lawsuit filed by environmental groups, the reconstructed site has already been used to house 900 migrants and could accommodate thousands.

In June, two environmental groups filed a motion to stop further construction on the detention center, claiming that it violated federal and state environmental laws.

Trump, who toured the site and dismissed environmental concerns, said the detention center was a model for what he'd like to do nationally.

The Republican president has been a proponent of aggressive immigration and border policy for over a decade. He has a Florida home. Dietrich Knauth reported from New York, Kanishka Singh from Washington and Edmund Klamann edited the article.

(source: Reuters)