In the latest legal salvo over the immigrant-detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” an environmental group Tuesday filed a lawsuit alleging that state officials have improperly withheld public records, including documents about Florida’s efforts to get federal money for the facility.
Friends of the Everglades filed the lawsuit in Leon County circuit court against the state Division of Emergency Management, which has played a key role in developing and operating the controversial center.
Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a federal lawsuit this summer alleging that state and federal officials violated the National Environmental Policy Act, a federal law that requires evaluating potential environmental impacts before projects can move forward. That case, which was joined by the Miccosukee Tribe, is pending at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The federal-court case has involved questions about funding for the Everglades detention center, which is surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve. The state has argued that Florida — not the federal government — built the detention center and operates it, putting it outside the requirements of the federal environmental law.
But the public-records lawsuit cited news reports early this month that the Trump administration has awarded a $608 million grant to Florida for the state’s efforts to detain people in the country illegally.
The lawsuit said Friends of the Everglades had earlier requested records from the state about funding for the facility but did not receive the information. After the media reports about the federal grant, Friends of the Everglades made another request on Oct. 2.
The Division of Emergency Management acknowledged that the state had submitted a grant application to the federal Emergency Management Agency in August but did not provide the application and funding documents, according to the lawsuit.
“FDEM (the Florida Division of Emergency Management) unlawfully refused to permit inspection or copying of the requested public records within a reasonable time,” the lawsuit said. “Despite acknowledging receipt of plaintiff's requests and indicating that documents were being released on a rolling basis, FDEM has failed to produce the requested documents related to applications for federal funding or grants for immigration detention centers.”
The lawsuit asks a judge to issue an order requiring the state to release requested documents and a declaration that the Division of Emergency Management violated Florida’s public-records law.
The detention center, which is part of state Republican efforts to help carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, began accepting people in July.
Siding with Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Miccosukee Tribe on the environmental issue, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in August issued an order telling the state to stop bringing in detainees and to wind down operations. But a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month put Williams’ order on hold and allowed the state to continue using the detention center.