Latest news with #FriendsOfTheEverglades
CBS News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Federal judge allows Miccosukee Tribe to join environmental lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz
A federal judge on Wednesday allowed the Miccosukee Tribe to join a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging an immigrant-detention center in the Everglades, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." The lawsuit, filed by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, alleges that state and federal officials did not comply with a law requiring that an environmental-impact study be performed before developing the remote facility. The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida on July 14 filed a motion seeking to intervene in the lawsuit over the detention center, which is surrounded by the Big Cypress National Preserve. The tribe's intervention request said the "Miccosukee people have lived in and cared for the land now known as the Big Cypress National Preserve since time immemorial" and raised environmental concerns. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued an order allowing the tribe to join the lawsuit after holding a hearing on the issue Wednesday. "We welcome the valuable perspective of the Miccosukee Tribe, which is on the front lines of the damage this mass detention center poses to the Everglades," Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said in a statement. Attorneys for state Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, who is a defendant in the lawsuit, filed a motion Friday opposing the Miccosukees' effort. In part, the state's lawyers argued that the tribe's participation would be "duplicative" of arguments by the environmental groups and would "inject into the case additional briefing and discovery that would seriously burden the existing parties and the court." Federal officials on Friday said they did not take a position on the tribe's intervention. The Miccosukee's motion said the detention center's "proximity to the tribe's villages, sacred and ceremonial sites, traditional hunting grounds, and other lands protected by the tribe raises significant concerns about environmental degradation and potential impacts to the same caused by the construction and operation of a detention facility" at the site. Williams is slated to hold an Aug. 6 hearing to consider the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction requiring an impact study to be performed.
Washington Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida wants to join a federal lawsuit against 'Alligator Alcatraz'
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is seeking to join a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the construction of a new immigration detention facility in the Everglades, which tribal members consider their sacred ancestral homelands . Miccosukee leaders had already condemned the facility . But the filing Monday of a motion to intervene in the case initially brought by environmental groups signals a new level of opposition by the tribe, which is also a major political donor in the state. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration rapidly built the facility, which state officials have dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz," on an isolated, county-owned airstrip inside the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. The Miccosukee have lived on and cared for the lands of Big Cypress 'since time immemorial,' the filing reads, noting that the tribe played an integral role in pushing for the creation of the national preserve, the country's first. 'The area now known as the Preserve is a core piece of the Tribe's homeland. Today, all of the Tribe's active ceremonial sites and a significant majority of the Tribe's traditional villages (sometimes known as 'clan camps') are within the Preserve,' the filing reads. The lawsuit originally filed by the Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal and state law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, the plaintiffs argue. As of Tuesday afternoon, the judge in the case was yet to act on the groups' requests for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. ___ 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.
Al Arabiya
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida wants to join a federal lawsuit against 'Alligator Alcatraz'
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is seeking to join a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the construction of a new immigration detention facility in the Everglades, which tribal members consider their sacred ancestral homelands. Miccosukee leaders had already condemned the facility. But the filing Monday of a motion to intervene in the case, initially brought by environmental groups, signals a new level of opposition by the tribe, which is also a major political donor in the state. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration rapidly built the facility, which state officials have dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, on an isolated county-owned airstrip inside the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. The Miccosukee have lived on and cared for the lands of Big Cypress since time immemorial, the filing reads, noting that the tribe played an integral role in pushing for the creation of the national preserve, the country's first. 'The area now known as the Preserve is a core piece of the Tribe's homeland. Today, all of the Tribe's active ceremonial sites and a significant majority of the Tribe's traditional villages (sometimes known as clan camps) are within the Preserve,' the filing reads. The lawsuit, originally filed by the Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal and state law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, the plaintiffs argue. As of Tuesday afternoon, the judge in the case was yet to act on the groups' requests for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
The Independent
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida wants to join a federal lawsuit against 'Alligator Alcatraz'
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is seeking to join a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the construction of a new immigration detention facility in the Everglades, which tribal members consider their sacred ancestral homelands. Miccosukee leaders had already condemned the facility. But the filing Monday of a motion to intervene in the case initially brought by environmental groups signals a new level of opposition by the tribe, which is also a major political donor in the state. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ' administration rapidly built the facility, which state officials have dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz," on an isolated, county-owned airstrip inside the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. The Miccosukee have lived on and cared for the lands of Big Cypress 'since time immemorial,' the filing reads, noting that the tribe played an integral role in pushing for the creation of the national preserve, the country's first. 'The area now known as the Preserve is a core piece of the Tribe's homeland. Today, all of the Tribe's active ceremonial sites and a significant majority of the Tribe's traditional villages (sometimes known as 'clan camps') are within the Preserve,' the filing reads. The lawsuit originally filed by the Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal and state law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, the plaintiffs argue. As of Tuesday afternoon, the judge in the case was yet to act on the groups' requests for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. ___ 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.
Associated Press
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida wants to join a federal lawsuit against 'Alligator Alcatraz'
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is seeking to join a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the construction of a new immigration detention facility in the Everglades, which tribal members consider their sacred ancestral homelands. Miccosukee leaders had already condemned the facility. But the filing Monday of a motion to intervene in the case initially brought by environmental groups signals a new level of opposition by the tribe, which is also a major political donor in the state. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration rapidly built the facility, which state officials have dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' on an isolated, county-owned airstrip inside the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. The Miccosukee have lived on and cared for the lands of Big Cypress 'since time immemorial,' the filing reads, noting that the tribe played an integral role in pushing for the creation of the national preserve, the country's first. 'The area now known as the Preserve is a core piece of the Tribe's homeland. Today, all of the Tribe's active ceremonial sites and a significant majority of the Tribe's traditional villages (sometimes known as 'clan camps') are within the Preserve,' the filing reads. The lawsuit originally filed by the Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal and state law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, the plaintiffs argue. As of Tuesday afternoon, the judge in the case was yet to act on the groups' requests for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. ___ 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.
