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| Dear Friend, |
| Wins like this don’t come every day — but when they do, they fill my heart with gratitude, hope, and determination. |
| Yesterday, a court ordered Florida and the Trump administration to wind down all operations at the Everglades Detention Center. |
| This is a preliminary injunction — it is binding, and it will last for the entire duration of our lawsuit against this inhumane detention center. |
| This is a win first and foremost for those subjected to this detention center’s abject cruelty. |
| This is a win for our client: Friends of the Everglades, which has been fighting for environmental justice and conservation since it was founded by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1969 to protect the very same site from further development. |
| This is a win for the environmental movement: proving that the National Environmental Policy Act is still a powerful force for justice, despite attempts to hamstring its effectiveness. |
| This is a win for hope, for the rule of law, for human rights, for the Everglades, for our clients and partners, for us, and for every single one of our supporters. |
| We are celebrating today, but we are not resting on our laurels. We are taking the fight to this administration, filing lawsuit after lawsuit to stop its unjust, unlawful, and anti-environment policies. |
| Our lawsuits are 100% donor-funded, so your support fuels wins like these and our future lawsuits. Please consider making a donation today to help us meet the scale of attacks coming from the Trump administration. |
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| What happened: |
| In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a partnership with federal agencies to build an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan. The facility was hastily put up in just eight days. |
| Four days later, Friends of the Everglades, represented by Earthjustice, Center for Biological Diversity, and private attorneys Paul Schwiep and Scott Hiassen, sued the administration and the Florida Division of Emergency Management for failing to undertake any environmental review for the facility. The Miccosukee Tribe subsequently joined the case. |
| The detention center has held more than a thousand people who have been rounded up by state or federal officials in the push for mass deportation, and it could be expanded to hold thousands more. |
| On August 6, the court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting any new construction until yesterday’s decision on the preliminary injunction motion. |
| What comes next: |
| The court ordered a preliminary injunction, which requires the state of Florida and the Trump administration to halt construction, stop bringing new detainees, and wind down operations in 60 days at the mass detention center in Big Cypress National Preserve. |
| The August 21 preliminary injunction will remain in place while the lawsuit challenging the detention center is heard. The lawsuit says the federal government must undertake a detailed environmental impact study, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. |
| Why it matters: |
| Florida and the Trump administration have been ramming through the construction of an immigration detention facility in the heart of the Florida Everglades, the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere and the home of critically endangered species like the Florida panther. |
| More than 20 acres of new pavement and miles of foreboding fencing have already been laid during construction. Around-the-clock stadium-style lights from the project can be seen for 15 miles, resulting in the effective loss of about 2,000 acres of prime panther habitat. Runoff from the detention center threatens sensitive wetlands and water quality. The detention center also threatens the Miccosukee Tribe’s sacred sites and communities. |
| Detaining people in makeshift cages and tents in the middle of the Everglades is also inhumane. While our lawsuit focuses on the ways this project flouts environmental laws, we are in close contact with coalition partners who are challenging the detention center on the basis of constitutional violations. |
| How you can help: |
| In every case, we represent our clients free of charge. That means your donations make our work possible. |
| The scale of unjust attacks on our environment is increasing. Your support is critical for us to meet the challenge of the Trump administration. |
| Please donate today, and help us fight for justice, our planet, and our future. |
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Sincerely,
Tania Galloni
Managing Attorney
Florida Office
Earthjustice |
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