Pointing to “prudence,” a federal judge late Monday ruled that a battle about legal representation for people at an immigrant-detention center in the Everglades should move to a different court while also declaring part of the lawsuit moot.
U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz issued a 47-page order that resolved some issues in the high-profile lawsuit alleging First Amendment violations at the detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Detainees and their attorneys contend, in part, they have been prevented from having proper confidential communications to discuss cases.
The state in early July opened the facility at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a remote site in the Everglades that is mostly in Collier County and partly in Miami-Dade County.
The detainees and attorneys filed the lawsuit in the federal Southern District of Florida, which includes Miami-Dade County. But state and federal officials argued that it should have been filed in the federal Middle District of Florida, which includes Collier County.
In his order, Ruiz, a judge in the Southern District, agreed that the case should be transferred to the Middle District as the disputed activities in the case are taking place on property in Collier County. The decision will lead to a different judge getting assigned to the fast-moving lawsuit.
“Plaintiffs have consistently maintained that the alleged barriers to counsel and inability to engage in confidential communications have taken place at Alligator Alcatraz, which is not in this (Southern) District,” Ruiz, who held a hearing Monday, wrote.
In addition to the First Amendment issues, the plaintiffs also argued in the lawsuit that the federal government had violated their rights by not identifying an immigration court that would handle their claims.
But over the weekend, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem filed a “notice of material development” saying judges at Krome North Processing Service Center would handle the detainees’ cases. Immigration hearings already take place at Krome, a Miami immigrant-detention center.
In his order, Ruiz dismissed the immigration-court allegations in the lawsuit, saying they were moot after the federal decision about Krome.
“Prudence in this matter has revealed changed circumstances, a moot claim and improper venue warranting transfer,” Ruiz wrote. “The court has thus sifted through critical preliminary issues to advance the case and position a sister court in the Middle District of Florida to reach the merits of plaintiffs’ remaining claims under the First Amendment.”
The lawsuit over access to legal representation is one of two key federal court battles about the detention center. In the other case, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity allege state and federal officials did not comply with a law requiring that an environmental-impact study be performed before developing the facility, which is surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Aug. 7 issued a temporary restraining order that put on hold for two weeks additional construction or infrastructure, paving or installation of new lighting at the site. Williams is expected to rule this week on whether to grant a longer-lasting preliminary injunction.
State Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said last week the facility held 1,000 people and has a capacity for 2,000. Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials have touted the facility as helping carry out President Donald Trump’s push to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally.
–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida
Leave a Reply