A federal judge slammed the brakes on construction at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center Thursday amid an escalating legal battle over whether the site violates environmental laws.
The immigrant detention facility will continue to hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers are barred from adding any new fill, pavement, or infrastructure for the next 14 days, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled during a Thursday hearing. That would stop any expansion of the facility in the short-term.
Williams, an Obama appointee, said she would issue a written order soon.
The temporary order allows Williams time to complete a hearing in a lawsuit filed at the end of June in Miami by two environmental groups—Friends of the Everglades and the Center for B