'Alligator Alcatraz’ may empty in days as court-ordered closure looms, state official says

'Alligator Alcatraz? may empty in days, state official says

Florida?s state-run immigration detention facility in the Everglades, nicknamed ?Alligator Alcatraz,? may be empty within days, according to an Aug. 22 email from Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A state-run immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades, nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz," may be empty within days, a state official said.

What we know:

Florida’s state-run immigration detention facility in the Everglades, nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz," may be empty within days, according to an Aug. 22 email from Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP

The facility, which opened July 1 and was built to hold up to 3,000 detainees, at one point housed nearly 1,000 people. As of last week, U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost said the population was down to 300 to 350 detainees. At least 100 detainees have already been deported, while others were transferred elsewhere.

What we don't know:

It remains unclear how quickly detainees will be moved out or what will happen to the facility if Judge Kathleen Williams’ order to close it within 60 days is upheld. 

Williams has not yet ruled on whether to pause her shutdown order while the state appeals. Officials have also not said whether Florida will continue operations at this site if the population does hit zero, or whether focus will shift entirely to the new detention center in North Florida.

The backstory:

The Everglades facility was hastily built this summer to meet former President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement push, with Florida officials spending more than $245 million on construction and operations. The site was carved out of a remote training airport in sensitive wetlands. 

Lawsuits quickly followed from environmental groups, the Miccosukee Tribe, and civil rights attorneys. The challenges accused the state of sidestepping federal environmental laws and claimed the facility subjected detainees to poor living conditions and due-process violations.

What they're saying:

Kevin Guthrie wrote in his Aug. 22 message, "we are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days."

Civil rights attorneys called the conditions at the facility "severe problems … previously unheard-of in the immigration system."

Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe argued that the facility "threatened environmentally sensitive wetlands" and undermined decades of restoration efforts.

Federal officials countered in court filings that "the Everglades facility’s thousands of beds were badly needed" to ease overcrowding.

SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35'S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS