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New Records Undercut Claims on ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Funding as Court Weighs Facility’s Fate

Plaintiffs say emails show officials coordinated on a FEMA grant months before a $608 million approval, potentially triggering a federal environmental review.

Overview

  • New filings include emails showing reimbursement discussions in June and FEMA’s confirmation in early August that it had received Florida’s grant application.
  • FEMA notified Florida in late September that it approved $608 million for the Everglades detention facility, but federal filings say no reimbursement has been paid.
  • Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe argue the records were withheld from the district court and support treating the project as federal under NEPA.
  • The facility remains open under an appellate stay that relied on arguments that no federal reimbursement had been sought when a Miami judge ordered a wind-down in August.
  • Plaintiffs ask the appellate panel to consider the new evidence as parallel lawsuits challenge the state’s authority to operate the first state-run immigration detention center, which took its first detainees in July.