Border Czar Tom Homan said over the weekend that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation operations will not be slowed following a federal court ruling that ordered the closure of Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams ordered the facility shut down within 60 days, ruling that its construction violated federal law by proceeding without the required environmental review.
The order mandates that all migrants currently housed at the site be relocated and that equipment including fencing and generators be removed.
Florida quickly filed an appeal in response, challenging the ruling in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
Governor Ron DeSantis said Friday that the state remained confident the ruling would be overturned.
“We’re not going to be deterred; we’re totally in the right on this,” DeSantis stated.
“This is not going to deter us. We’re going to continue working on the deportations, advancing that mission.”
In his first public comments since the decision, Homan said the ruling would not derail the Trump administration’s enforcement agenda.
“They’re not going to stop us doing what we’re doing. We’ll follow the judge’s order and we’ll