(NewsNation) — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier praised the legal team behind a recent appeal allowing a contested immigration detention center to continue operating in the Everglades.

The facility — dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" by Republican lawmakers — was previously under an order to suspend its operations indefinitely after facing litigation over environmental and human rights concerns. A federal appeals court on Thursday stayed that order.

"Thank goodness we got Alligator Alcatraz back open, operating, continuing to deliver for the American people," he said Friday on "NewsNation Live."

Uthmeier commended the legal "smackdown" and doubled down that the facility is not hostile to the environment or inhumane — as protestors, former center workers and legislators have claimed.

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