‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Construction Blocked by Federal Court

Further construction of a temporary migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades was temporarily halted by a federal court Thursday after conservation groups said state and federal agencies violated environmental law while quickly building the facility within an ecologically sensitive area.

Judge Kathleen Williams of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a temporary restraining order finding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Florida Division of Emergency Management likely violated the National Environmental Policy Act in not conducting an environmental review.