A federal appeals court halted a lower court judge’s order to end operations indefinitely at the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center. (Alon Skuy/Getty Images)
"This is a heartbreaking blow to America’s Everglades and every living creature there, but the case isn’t even close to over," Elise Bennett, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration moved quickly to build the facility at a single-runway training airport in the middle of the Everglades to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to detain and deport migrants. DeSantis has said the facility's location was intended to deter escape plans.
Trump toured the facility in July and suggested it could be used as a model for future facilities across the country to support his mass deportation plan.
Reacting to Thursday's ruling, DeSantis said that claims that the facility would soon shutter were false.
"We said we would fight that. We said the mission would continue. So Alligator Alcatraz is in fact, like we've always said, open for business," he said on social media.
LAWSUITS THREATEN TO UPEND ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ OPERATIONS
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit against "Alligator Alcatraz" say the case is far from over, claiming that the facility will eventually be shut down. (Getty Images)
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"In the meantime, if the DeSantis and Trump administrations choose to ramp operations back up at the detention center, they will just be throwing good money after bad because this ill-considered facility — which is causing harm to the Everglades — will ultimately be shut down," Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said in a statement.
The plaintiffs have argued that because Florida financed the project itself and the federal government hasn’t directly contributed, "Alligator Alcatraz" falls outside federal environmental review requirements, even though it houses federal detainees.
In Thursday's ruling, the appeals court largely accepted those claims.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/operations-alligator-alcatraz-back-after-appeals-court-halts-judges-order