Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has fired back at a lawsuit filed by Democratic lawmakers seeking access to a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades, saying they don’t have a legal right to enter the facility “at their pleasure.”
Five lawmakers filed the lawsuit in July after they made an unannounced visit to the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” but were denied access. They contended the denial was unconstitutional and violated state laws allowing access by legislators to correctional institutions.
But attorneys for DeSantis and state Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, in a response filed last week in Leon County circuit court, said the laws that the Democrats “invoked do not entitle them as individual legislators to enter Alligator Alcatraz at their pleasure.”
In part, the response said the access laws do not apply to the immigrant-detention facility.
“The facility is not a ‘state correctional institution’ because it is not a ‘prison’ or ‘other correctional facility,'” the response said, partially quoting one law. “‘Prisons’ and ‘correctional facilities’ describe facilities that are part of the criminal justice system. … Instead, Alligator Alcatraz is a short-term civil detention facility in which illegal aliens are held under the authority of the federal government and processed for deportation.”
Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, went to the center on July 3 “to inspect the state detention facility, evaluate the use of taxpayer funds and assess safety pursuant to Florida statutory guidelines,” the lawsuit said.
“Alligator Alcatraz” lawsuit filed at Florida Supreme Court in July
“The petitioners (the lawmakers) attempted to arrive unannounced so that they could observe the unadulterated conditions of the facility,” the lawsuit said. “The unannounced inspection of the facility falls squarely within the petitioners’ purview and oversight duties as state officers and members of the Florida Legislature.”
The lawsuit was filed at the Florida Supreme Court on July 10 seeking what is known as a “writ of quo warranto” directing DeSantis and Guthrie to allow lawmakers unannounced access to the facility. The Supreme Court, without offering an opinion about the lawmakers’ arguments, sent the case to circuit court.
Amid the controversy, state lawmakers and members of Congress were allowed to visit the facility, though Democrats said the visit was tightly controlled and left unanswered questions.
In addition to citing laws about legislators having access to correctional facilities, the lawsuit also raised constitutional separation-of-powers arguments.
“The denial of the petitioners’ access to the ‘Alligator Alcatraz‘ detention facility was an unconstitutional executive overreach because it prevented the duly elected members of the Florida Legislature from exercising their powers,” the lawsuit said. “The petitioners’ denial of entry and access restricted the Legislature’s independence as a co-equal branch of government.”
But in the response last week, the DeSantis administration attorneys said the state Constitution gives the Legislature oversight authority and a law authorizes legislative committees to carry out investigations. But the administration attorneys said individual lawmakers don’t have such powers.
“Far from the governor or FDEM (the Division of Emergency Management) usurping the authority of another branch of government, it is petitioners who attempt to usurp the authority of the Legislature and its committees by taking matters into their own hands,” the response said.
“Alligator Alcatraz” opened to help Pres. Donald Trump with mass deportation of undocumented immigrants
The state opened the detention center this summer at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, which had long been used for flight training, as DeSantis and other Florida Republican leaders sought to assist President Donald Trump’s mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. The facility, which is surrounded by the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve, also has led to separate legal battles in federal court.
The case about the legislators’ access has been assigned to Leon County Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom. An online docket Monday morning did not show any scheduled hearings.
