In Tallahassee, the environmental group Friends of the Everglades and the Miccosukee tribe have sued the Florida Division of Emergency Management over “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention center constructed in the wetlands. This was due to claims that they did not follow the law requiring an environmental review for the detention center in the Everglades.

The groups  also claim that Florida officials withheld public records related to federal funding for the facility. Additionally, they failed to disclose that the state had already applied for and been awarded $608 million in federal reimbursement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the facility. This information, Friends of the Everglades claims, was concealed from the courts and the public. 

The impact this has on the facility is greatly due to the federal appellate court’s previous decision to close “Alligator Alcatraz”’ because of the argument that no federal money had been used, and proves that this is a violation of public records laws and harms the Everglades.

This lawsuit is part of the ongoing legal challenges against the detention center, which is also facing separate lawsuits concerning its environmental impact on the Everglades while misleading the public.