TALLAHASSEE, Florida — The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians is asking a federal court to allow it to intervene in an environmental lawsuit challenging Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention center in the Everglades.
Details: The tribe late Monday filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit filed before the facility opened July 1 at the site of the former Everglades Jetport, a project west of Miami halted in 1970.
The motion argues the tribe is uniquely affected through federal and state laws establishing the surrounding Big Cypress National Preserve as its homeland. There are 10 traditional tribal villages located within 3 miles of Alligator Alcatraz, and one is 1,000 feet from the facility boundary, the tribe said.
The detention center, the tribe further argues, poses a pollution risk to villages downstream and is a threat to the Florida panther and Florida bonneted bat, both listed as endangered species. The threat of escapes from Alligator Alcatraz also is a threat, the tribe said.
