Plaintiffs suing the state and federal government over the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention facility are reacting to reports that the facility could soon close due to high costs.
WATCH BELOW: 'This dark chapter of Everglades history may be finally coming to a close,' Eve Samples tells WPTV's Jamie Ostroff
A New York Times article reported on Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security was in talks with Florida to wind down operations at the facility. Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged the facility was always meant to be temporary to alleviate overcrowding in ICE facilities.
"If they can handle that, then yeah. That would be great for us to break that facility down," DeSantis told reporters during a news conference Thursday.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said reports that the agency is pressuring Florida to close the facility are false.
Two federal lawsuits remain active: one focused on environmental concerns, the other on civil rights. Both plaintiffs say they will keep pressing forward in court.
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DHS denies push to close Alligator Alcatraz
"I felt very encouraged that this dark chapter of Everglades history may be finally coming to a close," said Eve Samples, Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades, which is one of the plaintiffs in the environmental lawsuit.
"I'm cautiously optimistic that these reports are accurate," said Corene Kendrick of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Putting a detention center literally in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of wetlands, it is just a colossally stupid idea."
Kendrick is the lead attorney in the civil rights lawsuit, which argues that detainees' First Amendment rights are violated, because they cannot make confidential outgoing calls to attorneys. She said if the state were to close Alligator Alcatraz, it would end her case, but detainees could still face challenges if moved to other facilities, including a large camp in Texas.
"Oh yes, the facility at Fort Bliss (Texas) is also quite abysmal," said Kendrick. "Multiple people detained there have died."
WATCH BELOW: DHS denies push to close Alligator Alcatraz
In the civil rights suit, the state and federal government are currently trying to stop an injunction ordering additional phone lines at Alligator Alcatraz, along with some other changes geared toward access to legal counsel.
Samples' environmental lawsuit argues the federal and state governments unlawfully skirted the National Environmental Policy Act by building Alligator Alcatraz without first conducting an environmental impact survey. She said how a potential shutdown would affect that case remains an open question.
"We are thinking a lot about what happens after Alligator Alcatraz, including the possibility that the state of Florida may want that property for some other reason that could still be harmful to the Everglades," Samples said.
New claims could also be on the horizon in the environmental case. Samples said new filings under the Endangered Species Act could come in the coming months.
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