Donald Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant jail faces closure
Donald Trump’s controversial migrant detention centre dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' is facing closure after a judge ordered a shutdown.
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A US federal judge has given the US President 60 days to bring the site’s operations to a close after it was deemed to be causing severe environmental damage to the Florida Everglades - a Unesco World Heritage Site.
In an 82-page ruling, district court judge Kathleen Williams said no more detainees can held at the centre.
The ruling also blocked any new construction work or expansion at the facility, and ordered a shutdown of "all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste receptors", severely impacting the site’s capacity to operate.
“This order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfil those promises, " Ms Williams said.
The preliminary injunction temporarily limits operations at the site while a lawsuit brought by environmental groups against it is heard.
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The state of Florida has lodged an appeal. It is working in partnership with Mr Trump to run the site.
The facility has been built on a little used airstrip in the Florida Everglades that was seized by Gov. DeSantis using emergency powers and will be used to house up to 3,000 people.
During a visit to the site last month, Mr Trump said: “We’re going to teach them [migrants] how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison”.
“Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this,” he later joked as he moved his hand in a zigzag motion.
The Florida Republican Party is selling 'Alligator Alcatraz' merchandise on its website, this includes t-shirts showing snakes and alligators outside a large building, as well as baseball caps and drinks coolers.
The facility has been built amid a controversial crackdown on migrants by the Trump administration which has seen more than 56,000 people detained by the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Two environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a bid to stop the "unlawful construction of a prison in the heart of the Everglades."
Protestors mounted their disagreement to the construction of 'Alligator Alcatraz' on June 28 and there are further protests anticipated on Tuesday.