Latest news with #Miccosukee
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida Democrats file bill to block federal funds to Alligator Alcatraz
Florida's Democratic congressional delegation has introduced legislation aimed at shutting down the controversial immigration detention center in the Everglades. Dubbed the 'No Cages in the Everglades Act,' the six-page bill is led by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston. It aims to ban the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating or funding the detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz, or any other 'immigration detention facility located within or adjacent to the Everglades ecosystem.' The bill also seeks to increase transparency and federal oversight of immigration detention centers nationwide. 'Trump and Ron DeSantis have exploited legal ambiguity around this Everglades internment camp to avoid any scrutiny of abuses there,' said Wasserman Schultz in an statement. 'Our bill would shut down this atrocity, strengthen oversight of detention facilities nationwide, and mandate public reporting on costs, conditions, and the treatment of detainees, as well as report on any harms to the environment and nearby tribal lands.' Wasserman Schultz is joined by fellow Florida Democrats Reps. Kathy Castor, Frederica Wilson, Lois Frankel, Darren Soto, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Maxwell Frost and Jared Moskowitz. The bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The facility — operated and funded by Florida's state government, with the expectation of federal reimbursement — has drawn sharp criticism from environmental advocates, Miccosukee tribal leaders and human rights groups, who call it both inhumane and ecologically disastrous. Multiple reports allege detainees are being held in unsafe, unsanitary conditions without access to clean water, medical care or legal support. Florida's Division of Emergency Management, which is overseeing the detention center, says those stories are false. READ MORE: Miccosukee Tribe moves to join environmental lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz The detention center sits on an airstrip on the edge of the Big Cypress National Preserve, a protected wilderness area that is home to endangered species. The bill coincides with a rapidly growing MoveOn Civic Action petition demanding the immediate closure of the Everglades detention camp. The petition has now surpassed 43,000 signatures, amplifying public pressure on state and federal officials. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick emphasized the broader moral stakes of the legislation. 'No one should be subjected to unsafe, degrading treatment, and we cannot meet these injustices with silence or symbolic gestures. We have a moral responsibility to act decisively,' Cherfilus-McCormick said. 'Every person in our custody deserves dignity, safety, and basic human rights.' The legislation has garnered support from major human rights and immigration organizations, including the ACLU, Detention Watch Network, Church World Service and the National Immigration Law Center. The bill comes just days after Wasserman Schultz, Moskowitz and Frost visited the facility alongside Florida state representatives. The visit followed complaints by detainees and attorneys about conditions inside and a lack of transparency. During the visit, Frost said they were denied permission to speak with any detainees, without explanation. Republicans who took the tour said the facility was clean and properly run. The Florida Division of Emergency Management and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
Newsweek
7 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Alligator Alcatraz Is a 'Huge Step Backward,' Native Tribal Leader Warns
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. A tribal leader told Newsweek that he and members in the Big Cypress National Preserve of Florida, which is adjacent to the state's Alligator Alcatraz migrant detention center, are seeking legal remedies against officials because environmental efforts are taking "a huge step backward." Why It Matters On July 14, the Miccosukee Tribe in Florida filed a motion to join environmental groups in a lawsuit against state and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Miami-Dade County and the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The suit said the Miccosukee people, who compose 15 active tribal villages and reside within the Big Cypress National Preserve, have lived in and cared for the land "since time immemorial." "The facility'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 same caused by the construction and operation of a detention facility at the TNT Site," the lawsuit said. "TNT" refers to the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, which was constructed in the 1970s and opposed by tribal members, conservationists and others. The opposition eventually halted the grandiose project after one long runway was built. Newsweek has contacted Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for comment. What To Know Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress spoke with Newsweek on Thursday on behalf of the tribe's 650 members, saying they had joined environmental groups in their legal action because of major environmental concerns that were conveyed prior to the facility's quick construction and use for illegal migrants. "If they had listened to our concerns, they would realize that this is actually not a very good idea to put this place in," Cypress said. "There's no infrastructure there, and everything has to be brought in. Basically, they're bringing in generators and cellphone towers." "And not to diminish what's going on there, but the cost of everything is going to be $450 million a year just to operate the place," he continued. "The governor [Ron DeSantis] as well as the Trump administration have put record amounts of money toward everybody's restoration and to put this project here flies in the face of that. It's a huge step backward for restoration." Betty Osceola, a member of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, standing in the Everglades a few yards from the front entrance of "Alligator Alcatraz" at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee,... Betty Osceola, a member of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, standing in the Everglades a few yards from the front entrance of "Alligator Alcatraz" at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, on July 10. MoreCypress said that like most others, he and tribal members found out about Alligator Alcatraz through the news. By the time they voiced displeasure with state and federal lawmakers, the facility—which DeSantis said can house 3,000 to 4,000 migrants—had basically already opened. Last month, DeSantis told reporters that the facility would have "zero impact" on the environment. Following the First and Second Seminole Wars, the Miccosukee people were relocated to about 2.5 million acres of land at the southernmost point of their traditional range that was reserved as Indian Territory in or about 1845. The "truce was broken," as the lawsuit said, and the U.S. attempted to remove the members from the reserved lands, ultimately forcing the Miccosukee people deeper into the Everglades, which they still inhabit to this day. "We feel that there has not been any environmental impact study done, no consultation with the tribes that are present in that area," Cypress said. "The Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes, we both have residents that live in the area and traditional camps within the national preserve not too far from the detention facility." He continued: "We are concerned about the daily lives of our members. We have a lot of members who live there. The increased traffic in that area is a big concern, safety-wise. We're going to have a lot of transported materials that are going to be going through that area now daily. Waste has to go out; supplies have to come in. We're very concerned about that." The permanence of the structure and nefarious long-term effects on the surrounding wetlands provide additional worries, Cypress added. In late June, nonprofit organizations Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity wrote in their complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief and a temporary restraining order that the facility "lies within the broader Everglades ecosystem restoration footprint, and any development at that site that disrupts hydrologic connectivity or degrades environmental conditions threatens to undermine the very objectives that these federal and state investments were intended to achieve." What People Are Saying Elise Bennett, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Newsweek on Thursday: "This is an incredibly ecologically sensitive system, and the impacts extend far beyond the site. Artificial lights are blazing into the once dark sky, evicting endangered Florida bonneted bats from dark, open night sky they need to hunt insects. "It's also cutting into essential territory for the endangered Florida panther and increasing the risk of more of these big cats being struck by cars on roads. Contaminants on the site—fuels, wastewater and human refuse—threaten to pollute the sensitive waters surrounding the site on all sides. This place was meant to be a preserve for clean water and wildlife, and the federal and state government have turned it into a dystopian hellscape." Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades, told Newsweek on Friday: "This mass detention center was ramrodded into the middle of our country's oldest national preserve with no public input, no environmental analysis—and no regard for the billions of dollars invested in Everglades restoration. Our government has gone rogue by ignoring cherished laws that protect our nation's water, wildlife and national parks." President Donald Trump told reporters when touring Alligator Alcatraz on July 1: "It's known as Alligator Alcatraz, which is very appropriate because I looked outside and that's not a place I want to go hiking. But very soon, this facility will house some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet." Democratic Florida Representative Anna Eskamani wrote on Facebook on July 12: "The environmental impact of this facility cannot be overstated—there is new asphalt, thousands of gallons of water used everyday and gas tanks powering generators. No alligators seen but plenty of mosquitoes. No one should be working here let alone detained." What Happens Next After an expedited motion was filed on July 11, lawyers for state Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told the court the groups did not have a right to tell judges how to proceed, E&E News reported. On Wednesday, Judge Jose E. Martinez recused himself from the case, which was reassigned to Judge Kathleen M. Williams. The change could cause delays in the case, meaning any potential relief may not come soon.
Miami Herald
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miccosukee Tribe moves to join environmental lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz
The Miccosukee Tribe is seeking to join a lawsuit against the state and federal governments over the hastily built migrant detention facility in the Everglades — a place the Miccosukee call home. The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida filed a motion on Monday to join nonprofits Friends of the Everglades, Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice as plaintiffs in the lawsuit that accuses the state of Florida and federal agencies of skirting environmental regulations to build Alligator Alcatraz. 'The Tribe remains committed to ensuring its traditional lands are not used as a detention facility,' the tribe said in a statement. Florida is operating the facility in Big Cypress National Preserve, a federally protected section of the Florida Everglades. 'If people get out, there's not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide,' Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a video posted on X in June announcing the site. But the Miccosukee beg to differ. There are over a dozen traditional Indian villages surrounding Alligator Alcatraz, including one village and school bus stop 1,000 feet away from the facility's entrance, according to the tribe's statement. Traditional ceremonial grounds and 11 villages are within three miles of the facility. 'The Miccosukee Tribe is committed to ensuring that our ancestral lands in Big Cypress will not become a permanent detention facility,' Talbert Cypress, the Miccosukee chairman, said in a statement issued Tuesday. 'We have reached out to the State and Federal governments and expressed our concerns, but we have not yet been advised of a closure date. As a consequence, we must take legal action to compel the parties to remove this facility, given its outsized budgetary, environmental, community safety, and logistical impacts. We are hopeful that the administrations will change course and preserve these lands.' The Miccosukee argue in their motion to intervene that 'the construction and operation of a detention facility without necessary environmental studies potentially poses a substantial threat to the rights and interests of the Tribe and the livelihood of Tribal members who live adjacent thereto.' The Miccosukee people have traveled from north Florida to the Everglades to fish, hunt and hold sacred ceremonies 'since time immemorial,' the document states. The Miccosukee were relocated to the Everglades during the Seminole Wars. The state of Florida has legally recognized the Miccosukee's right to live on and use the land, including Big Cypress, for over a century, the motion says. Though the detention facility is expected to hold thousands of people in a sparsely populated area, the state and federal governments have not conducted any studies to determine how the construction and operation of Alligator Alcatraz will impact the nearby village residents and students at the Miccosukee Indian School, court documents say. The tribe argues that the detention facility is likely to impact the daily lives of village residents, with concerns that include water pollution and significantly increased traffic on the two-lane Tamiami Trail, which residents rely on to evacuate during emergencies. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said Alligator Alcatraz will have 'zero impact on the Everglades.' But environmental groups and experts say the facility puts endangered and threatened species in the area, like the Florida panther, the bonneted bat and Everglade snail kite, in serious danger. Immigration advocates have also raised concerns over the facility. Detainees, many of whom have no criminal record, described harsh and disgusting conditions inside the facility, like massive bugs, extreme heat and malfunctioning toilets, during the first days of operation. Immigration attorneys told the Herald they can't contact their clients.
San Francisco Chronicle
15-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
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. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free 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.
