Federal officials on Friday confirmed that Florida has been reimbursed $608 million for the costs of building and operating an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades. This funding revelation poses a risk of the facility facing closure yet again due to a federal judge’s injunction issued in August. The judge sided with environmental groups who argued that the site had not been subjected to a proper environmental review prior to its transformation into a detention center, giving Florida a two-month deadline to cease operations.
While the judge's decision was temporarily put on hold by an appellate court, which ruled that the facility did not require an environmental impact study as Florida had not received federal funding until recently, the legal challenges surrounding the site continue. The three-judge panel indicated that should the federal government approve the reimbursement request, an environmental impact statement (EIS) may be necessary.
President Donald Trump had previously toured the facility and suggested it could serve as a model for future detention centers, underlining the administration's push for greater deportation infrastructure. Environmental advocates, however, contend that the reimbursement underscores the facility's classification as a federal project, which mandates comprehensive environmental review under federal law.
Elise Bennett, the Florida and Caribbean director at the Center for Biological Diversity, stated, “This is a federal project being built with federal funds that’s required by federal law to go through a complete environmental review. We’ll do everything we can to stop this lawless, destructive and wasteful debacle.”
