Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) commented on the ruling ordering the South Florida Detention Facility, also referred to as Alligator Alcatraz, calling the "internment camp" as being "cruel."
“This Everglades internment camp was a cruel, wasteful, destructive stunt from start to finish,” she said. “The judge made the right call to shut it down. Trump and DeSantis must obey the law.”
Rep. Schultz also appeared in an interview with CNN, where she elaborated on the facility’s imminent closure, calling it a “political stunt.”
“This is a complete mess. That was a political stunt from the beginning that has had human rights abuses that are incomprehensible, that are absolutely harming the environment, and really unraveling progress that we've made over 30 years to restore the Everglades. And at the end of the day, we need to make sure that we respect tribal lands,” she stated.
A federal judge in Miami ruled that the facility can remain operational for now but barred its expansion and prohibited bringing in additional detainees.
“Within 60 days, and once the population attrition allows for safe implementation of this Order, the facility must also remove all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles that were installed to support this project,” the ruling said.
It also demands that the government remove the temporary fencing so Native American tribe members can access the site as they did before the facility was erected, and take down any additional lighting installed for the detention facility.
The defense appealed the ruling, citing the land’s previous development and its goal of ending rampant illegal immigration.
“[The ruling] ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade. It is another attempt to prevent the President from fulfilling the American people’s mandate to remove the worst of the worst, including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, terrorists, and rapists from our country." A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, said.
