19 h. ago Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ can stay open for now, US appeal court rules

A US appeal court ruled on Thursday that a Florida migrant detention centre known as “Alligator Alcatraz” can remain open for now. A lower court judge had barred the Trump administration and Florida officials last month from bringing any new migrants to the facility and for much of the site to be dismantled, effectively shutting it down. But a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that the detention centre can remain open while a Trump administration appeal of...

Politics

8 d. ago In blow to Trump, judge orders ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to close

The immigration detention centre in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” must keep moving towards shutting down operations by late October, a judge has ruled, even as the state and federal governments fight that decision. US District Judge Kathleen Williams late on Wednesday denied those requests to pause her order to wind down operations at the facility, which has been plagued by reports of unsanitary conditions and detainees being cut off from the legal system. A Florida official...

Politics

8 d. ago In blow to Trump, judge orders Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to close

Florida could be on the hook for US$218 million the state spent to convert a remote training airport in the Everglades into an immigration detention centre dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”. The centre may soon be completely empty as a judge upheld her decision late Wednesday ordering operations to wind down indefinitely. Shutting down the facility for the time being would cost the state US$15 million to US$20 million immediately, and it would cost another US$15 million to US$20 million to reinstall...

Politics

8 d. ago ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ ordered to close, potentially costing Florida US$218m

Florida could be on the hook for US$218 million the state spent to convert a remote training airport in the Everglades into an immigration detention centre dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”. The centre may soon be completely empty as a judge upheld her decision late Wednesday ordering operations to wind down indefinitely. Shutting down the facility for the time being would cost the state US$15 million to US$20 million immediately, and it would cost another US$15 million to US$20 million to reinstall...

Economics

8 d. ago Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ likely to be empty within days: Florida official

A top Florida official says the controversial state-run immigration detention facility in the Everglades is likely to be empty in a matter of days, even as Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration and the federal government fight a judge’s order to close the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by late October. That is according to an email exchange shared with The Associated Press. In a message sent to South Florida Rabbi Mario Rojzman on August 22 related to providing chaplaincy...

Politics

1 week ago Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ faces closure. What happens now?

A US federal judge has put a stop to further expansion of the immigration detention centre built in the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz, ordering that its operations wind down within two months. US District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami wrote in her 82-page order late on Thursday that Florida officials never sufficiently explained why an immigration detention centre needed to be located in the middle of sensitive wetlands cherished by environmentalists and outdoor...

Politics