By John Q. Hosedrinker 
A federal judge has ruled to shut down the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center within 60 days, prohibiting the intake of new detainees. The judge cited environmental concerns and ordered the removal of infrastructure that transformed the airstrip into a detention center, ultimately rendering the site uninhabitable. This decision comes in response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe who claimed the facility could cause irreparable harm to the Everglades. The state has filed a notice to appeal the ruling.
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Judge orders Alligator Alcatraz shut down in 60 days, says no more new detainees. Well, this certainly stirs up a mixed bag of feelings, doesn’t it? On one hand, there’s a definite sense of relief. It’s hard not to feel a little bit optimistic when it comes to something, anything, that might act as a roadblock to policies perceived as harmful. But then again, the other part of me, the more skeptical side, immediately starts wondering what the plan is for the people currently held there. Just what are they going to do with them? The prospect of a safe return to their homes seems questionable.
The immediate reaction also brings up the financial side of the situation. Half a billion dollars is a lot of money. No matter which way you look at it, that’s an enormous sum. There’s a bit of a feeling that this could be a waste, with the suspicion that the same thing could simply be rebuilt somewhere else, perhaps even with less regard for legal guidelines. It’s not just about the detention center itself, but where it was built. The site was apparently chosen for its harshness, and I can almost hear the gloating from certain corners of the internet, with all the talk of alligators and mosquitoes. Disgusting, really.
Then you have the potential for defiance. The fear is that the order will be ignored, that it’ll be business as usual. History tends to repeat itself, and there is a feeling that past patterns will continue. It’s hard to imagine the Trump administration actually adhering to the judge’s ruling, especially if it involves dismantling and relocating. And with the appeal process looming, as well as the issues with enforcement, it’s hard to envision this being resolved in the timeline set.
It all raises questions about the long-term plans. What exactly was supposed to happen with the detainees? Would this place have stayed open even if the leadership changed? The phrase, “The deportations will continue until morale improves,” certainly comes to mind. It seems like something that would be said, but not by a humane person.
The implications of all this are considerable. There is a sense of devastation, of betrayal that this facility was even built in the first place. Fascism has never been successful, and so it’s easy to hope that this ruling may be a step in that direction. The potential for extensions, delays, and legal maneuvers is also a major concern. There’s a real fear that nothing will change and that the judge might even be put at risk.
The focus then shifts to what might happen if the order isn’t followed. If the site continues to operate, who is going to face consequences? Will anyone be held accountable? And, if not, what does that really mean for the rule of law? It makes me think of who might be held responsible. Who’s going to take the fall, the blame for all of this? If the order’s ignored, what happens then? Because if there aren’t clear and serious answers to those questions, then it does feel like it’s all just talk, that the judge’s orders are basically meaningless.
There is a strong feeling that the place, which the judge has ordered to be stripped of anything to make it inhabitable, was also a money laundering scheme. There’s a thought that this place should never have been built in the first place. The focus then goes toward who will be held responsible for what has happened there. What is happening with the financial gains made through the operation? What happens to those who got paid off?
Then we move from the immediate to the practical. What’s the plan for the detainees? The reality of this particular situation also involves the physical conditions of the site. Building something like that, in a hurricane-prone location is, well, a disaster waiting to happen. Then there’s the ethics. How can you build a place like that, without proper regard for the people? The fact that it took months for a judge to take action is concerning, to say the least.
And, yes, there’s the money, again. The whole affair feels like a farcical situation, and there’s a suspicion that the people who profited from it won’t be held accountable.
In the end, this whole situation is just a mess. It’s a mess of legal battles, of financial concerns, of humanitarian issues, of political posturing. And it’s hard not to feel as if things are, in many ways, getting worse.