ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20116
No(s). 25-22896-CV-WILLIAMS (S.D. Fla. Aug 21, 2025) (Williams, J.)

A district court granted in part and denied in part environmental groups' motion for preliminary injunction of the federal government's mass immigrant detention and deportation camp in the Florida Everglades. The groups argued construction and operation of the project without environmental review violated NEPA, and sought to enjoin the state of Florida and the federal government from developing or using the site as a detention facility until the government complies. The court found the project was a major federal action because it was requested by the federal government, built with a promise of full federal funding, constructed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) standards, staffed by deputized ICE officers acting under color of federal authority and at the direction and supervision of ICE officials, and existed for the sole purpose of immigrant detention and deportation. It further found the groups provided substantial evidence to prove that irreparable harm was ongoing and likely to worsen, and that the balance of equities and public interest favored the injunction given extensive evidence supporting their claims of significant ongoing and likely future environmental harms, while neither the federal government nor the state could explain why the camp needed to be in the Everglades. It entered a preliminary injunction prohibiting Florida and the federal government from installing additional industrial-style lighting; doing any paving, filling, excavating, or fencing; or doing any other expansion, including placing or erecting additional buildings, tents, dormitories, or other residential or administrative buildings; and from bringing additional persons onto the site who were not already being detained there. It also ordered the removal of (1) temporary fencing, to allow tribal members access to the site; (2) light fixtures installed for use of the property as a detention camp; and (3) all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles installed to support the project.