"Two judges appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit by President Donald Trump issued a Thursday decision that allows a newly established but already notorious immigrant detention center in Florida, dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, to stay open. Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida sought "to halt the unlawful construction" of the site. Last month, Judge Kathleen Williams - appointed by former President Barack Obama to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida - ordered the closure of the facility within 60 days. However, on Thursday, Circuit Judges Elizabeth Branch and Barbara Lagoa blocked Williams' decision, concluding that "the balance of the harms and our consideration of the public interest favor a stay of the preliminary injunction.""
"Judge Adalberto Jordan, an Obama appointee, issued a brief but scathing dissent. He wrote that the majority "essentially ignores the burden borne by the defendants, pays only lip service to the abuse of discretion standard, engages in its own factfinding, declines to consider the district court's determination on irreparable harm, and performs its own balancing of the equities.""
"Critics slammed the move, calling the jail an environmental threat that "has been functioning as an extrajudicial site.""
A federal appeals panel permitted the Alligator Alcatraz immigrant detention center in the Everglades to remain open by staying a district court injunction requiring closure within 60 days. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe had sought to halt construction and secured a closure order from Judge Kathleen Williams. Circuit Judges Elizabeth Branch and Barbara Lagoa granted a stay, citing the balance of harms and public interest. Judge Adalberto Jordan dissented sharply, accusing the majority of ignoring burdens on defendants, engaging in factfinding, and failing to properly consider irreparable harm. The ruling drew praise from DHS and Florida officials and condemnation from critics concerned about environmental and extrajudicial impacts.
Read at Truthout
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