Judge considers whether 'Alligator Alcatraz' challenge was filed in wrong venue
Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida's southern district is the wrong venue for the federal lawsuit by environmental groups since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state's middle district, according to government arguments.
Any decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami about whether to move the case could also influence a separate lawsuit brought by civil rights advocates who say that detainees at 'Alligator Alcatraz' have been denied access to attorneys and immigration courts.
The federal and state government defendants in the civil rights case also argue that the lawsuit was filed in the wrong venue. At the request of a judge, the civil rights groups on Tuesday filed a revised class-action complaint arguing that the detainees' constitutional rights were being violated.
Environmental groups filed their lawsuit against federal and state officials in Florida's southern district last month, asking for the project being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades to be halted because the process didn't follow state and federal environmental laws. Besides Wednesday's hearing over venue, a second hearing has been scheduled for next week on the environmental groups' request for temporary injunction.
The first of hundreds of detainees arrived a few days after the lawsuit was filed, and the facility has the capacity to hold 3,000 people.
The detention center was opened by Florida officials, but critics said it's unclear whether federal immigration officials or state officials are calling the shots. Deportation flights from 'Alligator Alcatraz' started last week.
Williams on Monday ordered that any agreements be produced in court between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Florida Department of Emergency Management, a move that could shed some light on the relationship between federal and state agencies in running the facility.
Critics have condemned the facility as a cruel and inhumane, as well as a threat to the ecologically sensitive wetlands, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican state officials have defended it as part of the state's aggressive push to support President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.
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Janet McCormick, 62, remembers the riot well, living just doors away from the centre of it. Like many people interviewed, her eyes glaze over as she recalls the events of that night. 'It was a terrible time,' she says. 'The rioters were right outside my home, lighting fires and throwing bricks. 'It was terrifying for people living around here. No-one was sure what was going to happen and the police appeared to be outnumbered. 'It was a horrible thing to witness. I was angry last year at people for being so stupid that they believed every rumour they heard. 'I kept telling them they were being racist, that they should think for themselves but you could see what was driving them on. 'Sadly I do not think the Government has done enough to prevent another riot, not here but I can see it happening in other parts of the country. 'I think people think we should have someone waiting on the shore for the boats to arrive and have the power to send them straight back. 'People can't understand why that is not happening. It's no use telling us about human rights because this is affecting everyone. 'Illegal immigration is killing this country. It is putting a vast strain on the NHS and welfare and schools because too many people are coming into the country and we can't cope. 'I keep reading about how much money we are paying the French to stop asylum seekers crossing the Channel but the boats are still coming. 'Somebody has to address the problem. I don't want to see or read about another riot like we had in Southport but the Government must get a grip.' Businesswoman Kimberley Parker, 37, runs pet groomers Glad Wags just down from the mosque. Liberal in her views, she blamed the riot on 'bigotry and ignorance' and was particularly upset that the rioters targeted a hard-working Asian family who run a local shop doors away from her own. 'The thugs who raided their shop went for the alcohol and cigarettes and got away with more than £10,000,' she says. 'I was just very disappointed in my fellow human beings. The only good thing is that the riot brought his all closer together in Southport, especially around here. 'That was the one big positive to come out of it all. 'But the hard truth is that people will read and accept lies as the truth and I suppose that is because they want to. 'And we have to accept that people are now angry for all sorts of reasons and one of them I think is because they don't see the Government as very strong. It bends too easily. 'On the one hand we are getting misinformation from social media about the dangers of illegal immigration and on the other we are not getting enough information from the Government over how many immigrants are arriving here and what they intend to do about it. 'I don't think Starmer is being proactive enough. 'We need to sort out what is going on. For example, a lot of the people coming across on boats are losing their passports so they cannot be deported because no-one knows where they came from. 'That should be sorted immediately. If you don't have a passport you should be unable to claim asylum and that should be the hard and fast rule. 'The Government need to work with us to calm our fears. Of course people here are frightened of those from different cultures with backgrounds they don't know about. 'Starmer has to understand that and he has got to have a policy that we understand. 'I do hold liberal views but I do realise you cannot have uncontrolled immigration without it having a knock on effect on every part of out lives. 'I do fear there could be further riots in the country but I hope that there isn't. 'I think that since the riot last year we have become closer in Southport but I think what is going on in the rest of the country is a shambles. 'It appears to me that the Government is spending all its time papering over the cracks instead of facing up to problems and doing something about them.' Roofer Craig Johnson, 37, witnessed the riot at first hand with most of it happening outside his front door. 'I was speechless at first,' he says. 'It was horrific to watch. 'The rioters were pulling down the garden walls and using the bricks to throw at the mosque and at police. 'I was one of those who came out the next day and help re-build the walls around here. 'But I don't think the Government is doing enough to stop another riot happening somewhere else. They are not facing up to the immigration problem. 'If you ask me, the sooner Farage gets in the better. 'What do I think Starmer should do? I think the best thing he could do is resign.' Meanwhile, in Tamworth a year ago a rioting mob descended on the old historic town where they tried to set fire to a Holiday Inn which was housing migrants. Hundreds of people gathered as a group of masked thugs threw a burning bush inside the side entrance, while onlookers filmed, cheered and clinked their beer bottles Adam Goodfellow, 39, a surveyor who stood in Tamworth at last year's General Election for the Workers Party, said: 'I came down here when I heard there was a protest being planned, just to say that these people don't speak for all of Tamworth. 'There were a gang of people shouting at the police and it had been going for a good hour when they started throwing fireworks and it got scary. 'Personally I believe uncontrolled immigration is damaging to working peoples' interests. I also believe that when things aren't going so well, people look for scapegoats and there is a lot of hearsay on social media. 'If there is lawlessness then you need more police whoever is committing the crime. 'A year on and nothing has changed under Labour, people are still massively concerned which is why Reform won every seat at the recent elections. 'The only change at the hotel seems to be permanent security guards on reception which shows there is still a high level of threat and concern.' Claire Mitchell, 51, a Tamworth local and a regular gym-goer, said: 'What happened a year ago was horrific to see. I was ashamed and surprised. I did not think Tamworth was that sort of place. 'I don't believe everything I read on social media. There are people with agendas seeking to sew division. 'I have seen people from the hotel sitting around the lake and passing the time of day like anyone else might. It is not something I get concerned about. 'Fake news is a terrible thing and the riots we saw last year were prompted by that. 'Tamworth is a great place. I was brought up here and it has so much more to offer than the terrible behaviour of a minority. I find it sad that its reputation has been tarnished in this way. 'A year on, I do not think it matters which political party is in power. 'For me, anyone who risks their life getting on a dinghy to cross the sea has got something to run from. 'There will always be some who take advantage of a humanitarian situation but we must not let that blind us.' Retired IT guy and gym-goer Alex Freeman, 72, said: 'Whatever your opinion of the immigration situation, there is no excuse for threatening people's welfare and damaging property and that's what happened last year. 'I don't mind peaceful protest but that was threatening harm to other human beings and that is just wrong. 'I am anti the boats, I think immigration should be controlled and if you do something illegal then you shouldn't end up being given free stuff in a hotel. 'It's difficult. These are obviously desperate people but this country is not so big. 'It annoys me when I see homeless people in this country and then I think these people in the hotels have travelled across multiple countries to get to the UK. 'Why are they doing this? I know France and Germany take a lot in but I don't think they are treated as nicely as we treat them. 'We have limited resources – we have a broken NHS, potholes everywhere and we're constantly being told there is not enough money, so of course people are going to be angry. 'This is a terrible situation. 'I don't have any reason to think the people in the hotel are any different or worse than anyone else. 'I see them doing things we all do – going to the lake, looking at the ducks. If some do naughty stuff then that is rare just as it is rare when one of us commits a crime. 'And I know they are a tiny fraction of overall immigration. They get a lot of attention but they are not the ones breaking our system.' A 36-year-old mother of three, and regular gym goer, said: 'I do feel a little bit unsafe in the dark evenings. I park a bit closer to the entrance because the hotel is full of males and they hang around with nothing to do and it does make you feel on edge. 'I did not agree with the protests. Violence is never the answer but people don't feel listened to so it is difficult. 'Yes, you feel unsafe but I also feel a bit sorry for them. Where are they meant to go? 'I saw more police around now than I did before last year's trouble but I don't know whether that is to keep everyone safe or because something has happened. 'There is a lot of hearsay, a lot of rumours. I hear about women being cat-called but I have never have anything like that happen to me personally so it is a difficult one to judge.'
