(VIDEO) Karoline Leavitt Says Trump Administration “Not Backing Down” on Alligator Alcatraz After Obama Judge Orders Closure
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that the Trump Administration still plans to use Alligator Alcatraz despite the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) already taking steps to move detainees somewhere else in compliance with a judge’s order.
“DHS is in compliance while we disagree with this decision, and we’ll continue to fight it in court,” she explained.
An appeal of the ruling is ongoing.
Florida’s Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport has been equipped to house illegal aliens in a detention center, informally known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The facility, which opened earlier this year at the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis, is surrounded by Florida’s natural defenses, including alligators, pythons, and dense swampland in the Florida Everglades.
The Gateway Pundit reported that a federal judge halted construction on the facility, citing environmental violations, and barred the Trump administration from bringing illegal aliens to be detained.
The judge further ordered the facility to be dismantled within 60 days.
“No later than sixty (60) days from the date of this order, and once the population attrition allows for safe implementation of this Order,40 the Defendants shall remove 1) the temporary fencing installed by Defendants to allow Tribe members access to the site consistent with the access they enjoyed before the erection of the detention camp; 2) the Sunbelt lighting fixtures and any additional lighting installed for the use of the property as a detention facility; and 3) all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles that were installed to support this project,” the judge ordered.
Leavitt assured reporters on Thursday that the Trump Administration is "not backing down" and will "continue to fight" the egregious political ruling.
WATCH:
Reporter: Last week, a judge on an environmental concerns lawsuit said that the administration has 60 days to wind down operations there. The administration has not been shy and fighting back against what it calls activist judges. But why is it backing down this time?
Leavitt: We're not backing down. We've always said that we are going to continue to fight in the court of law for what's right because we know that what this administration is doing with respect to all policy, but also immigration policy, is above the books, and we're abiding by our nation's immigration laws. And we think it's despicable that an activist judge has inserted themselves in this migrant detention facility to the point where DHS is now having to relocate these illegal immigrants to other detention facilities around the country. That is an unnecessary burden on the Department of Homeland Security and these agents who should be removing these criminals from our community. That's what the American people elected this President to do. So, we've always maintained, Gabe, we're going to comply with court orders, but we're also going to fight back on them on the merits of the law. And DHS is in compliance while we disagree with this decision, and we'll continue to fight it in court.
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