Illegal Immigrant Advocates Allege State Has No Authority to Run Facility.

A coalition of immigrants’ rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit Friday challenging Florida’s authority to detain people at the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center, a controversial facility constructed in the middle of the Everglades. The lawsuit claims the state is operating an independent immigration detention system, a role reserved for the federal government.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Community Justice Project, and National Immigrant Justice Center filed the suit on behalf of people detained at the facility. They argue the state’s use of 287(g) agreements—which allow a narrow set of immigration enforcement tasks for local law enforcement—does not grant it the power to create

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