Sixty days. That’s all the time operators get to remove “all generators, gas, sewage and other waste and waste receptacles” from Alligator Alcatraz, according to a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams.
This Obama-appointed judge made that demand in her preliminary injunction in Friends of the Everglades Inc. v. Kristi Noem. Friends of the Everglades, and myriad other plaintiffs, claim that Alligator Alcatraz poses some direct and dreadful threat to the wildlife in the area. Williams is currently hearing testimony on the subject and decided to issue this preliminary injunction while that testimony is ongoing.
Noah Witherspoon is president of Turning Point Weston and vice president of Club America Tarpon Springs. (courtesy, Noah Witherspoon)
It’s odd that Williams concludes that Alligator Alcatraz is still permitted to operate but its sole function is stripped away. According to Williams, it can still operate without taking in any additional temporary inhabitants. But even if that was true, how would the current population of the facility live without a toilet? It’s inhumane and medieval to think illegal immigrants, criminals as they may be, should be subject to conditions such as that and that operators should simply work their way around it.
This unreasonable injunction serves only to defame the Department of Homeland Security and Florida’s state government. Not only is it grossly inhumane to strip away the basic human rights of the inhabitants, but it’s also legally questionable to halt the lawful deportation of criminals who could pose a threat to our society, all for a few animals.
Friends of the Everglades was launched in the 1960s, largely to stop the creation of the Everglades Jetport, where Alligator Alcatraz now stands. Having succeeded in preventing all but one runway from being built, the organization is now attempting to once again turn back the clock and stop something already in motion. A wildlife group founded on the attempt to stifle Floridian enterprise is now making a desperate effort to swipe the federal government’s power to lawfully deport illegal immigrants. And they’re doing so in Judge Williams’ courtroom by claiming the vast Everglades are endangered by a few toilets. Shockingly, this judge agrees, and now we have one of the strangest injunctions we’ve ever seen in federal court jurisprudence — not only calling for depriving a deportation facility of toilets, but also plundering the very principle of lawfully deporting criminals.
Thankfully, our federal powers like the Department of Justice are well-equipped with exceptional attorneys to confront these seemingly plain and bold deprivation of rights to federal and state forces. In a press release, the Department of Justice makes clear that its Environment and Natural Resources Division will be ardently defending the government in Williams’ court.
“We are proud to defend against these unfounded claims and to help the administration fulfill its fundamental obligation to prioritize the safety and security of Americans,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of ENRD (Environmental and Natural Resources Division) stated.
Despite the possibility of DOJ intervention, Williams’ ruinous injunction is already taking effect. The Associated Press reports that Florida Management Emergency Director Kevin Guthrie stated in an email to chaplaincy servicemen that the facility will be down to “0 individuals” in the next few days.
Williams has already decimated the powerhouse of Florida deportation proceedings and washed away any federal power to continue with her legally questionable injunction. In addition to these frightening consequences of her actions, Williams has also wasted federal and state resources, time and money for baseless claims of environmental damage. Thankfully, the attorneys at DOJ will make sure this case doesn’t deprive our government of the ability to deport these criminals for the safety of Florida.
Noah Witherspoon is president of Turning Point Weston and vice president of Club America Tarpon Springs.
