Latest news with #BigCypress
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Environmental Groups Sue to Block Migrant Detention Center Rising in Florida Everglades
Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday to block a migrant detention center being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades. The lawsuit seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, according to the lawsuit filed in Miami federal court. The center, dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is set to begin processing people who entered the US illegally as soon as next week, the governor said Friday on Fox & Friends. The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers, and other temporary buildings at the Miami-Dade County–owned airfield in the Big Cypress National Preserve about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. The lawsuit names several federal and state agencies as defendants.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Environmental groups sue to block migrant detention center rising in Florida Everglades
Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday to block a migrant detention center being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades. The lawsuit seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, according to the lawsuit filed in Miami federal court. The center dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' by Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to begin processing people who entered the U.S. illegally as soon as next week, the governor said Friday on 'Fox and Friends.' The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings at the Miami Dade County-owned airfield in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. The lawsuit names several federal and state agencies as defendants.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Native leaders blast construction of Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' on land they call sacred
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration is racing ahead with construction of a makeshift immigration detention facility at an airstrip in the Everglades over the opposition of Native American leaders who consider the area their sacred ancestral homelands. A string of portable generators and dump trucks loaded with fill dirt streamed into the site on Thursday, according to activist Jessica Namath, who witnessed the activity. The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings at the county-owned airfield located in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Native leaders blast construction of Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' on land they call sacred
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ' administration is racing ahead with construction of a makeshift immigration detention facility at an airstrip in the Everglades over the opposition of Native American leaders who consider the area their sacred ancestral homelands. A string of portable generators and dump trucks loaded with fill dirt streamed into the site on Thursday, according to activist Jessica Namath, who witnessed the activity. The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings at the county-owned airfield located in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. A spokesperson for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is helping lead the project, did not respond to requests for comment. State officials have characterized the site as an ideal place to hold migrants, saying there's 'not much' there other than pythons and alligators. Indigenous leaders who can trace their roots to the area back thousands of years dispute that — and they're condemning the state's plans to build what's been dubbed ' Alligator Alcatraz ' on their homelands. For generations, the sweeping wetlands of what is now South Florida have been home to Native peoples who today make up the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. 'Rather than Miccosukee homelands being an uninhabited wasteland for alligators and pythons, as some have suggested, the Big Cypress is the Tribe's traditional homelands. The landscape has protected the Miccosukee and Seminole people for generations,' Miccosukee Chairman Talbert Cypress wrote in a statement on social media. There are 15 remaining traditional Miccosukee and Seminole villages in Big Cypress, as well as ceremonial and burial grounds and other gathering sites, Cypress testified before Congress in 2024. 'We live here. Our ancestors fought and died here. They are buried here,' he said. 'The Big Cypress is part of us, and we are a part of it.' Critics have condemned the facility and what they call the state's apparent reliance on alligators as a security measure as a cruel spectacle, while DeSantis and other state officials have defended it as part of Florida's muscular efforts to carry out President Donald Trump 's immigration crackdown. Tribal leaders and environmentalists are urging the state to change course, noting billions of dollars in state and federal funds have been poured into Everglades restoration in recent years, an investment they say is jeopardized by plans to house some 1,000 migrants at the site for an undetermined amount of time. Indigenous leaders and activists are planning to gather at the site again on Saturday to stage a demonstration highlighting why the area is 'sacred' and should be 'protected, not destroyed.' 'This place became our refuge in time of war. It provides us a place to continue our culture and traditions,' Miccosukee leader Betty Osceola wrote in a social media post announcing the demonstration. 'And we need to protect it for our future generations,' she added. ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
In Florida, an ICE detention facility in the middle of the Everglades
Florida started construction this week on a 1,000-bed detention facility for undocumented immigrants in the middle of the Everglades, despite objections from local officials and environmentalists who say it would harm protected wetlands that the state and federal government have spent billions to restore. The plan will turn an infrequently used airstrip next to the Big Cypress National Preserve, a portion of the Everglades, into a 'temporary' detention facility, according to State Attorney General James Uthmeier (R).
