“The rule of law must be upheld,” the lawsuit states.
By Mitch Perry for The Florida Phoenix
The five Democratic state lawmakers who were denied entrance to inspect the new immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades last week filed a lawsuit in the Florida Supreme Court against Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Department of Emergency (FDEM) Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie on Thursday.
They contend that their exclusion from the facility violated state law as well as the Florida Constitution by eroding the separation of powers and improperly restricting the authority of a co-equal branch of government.
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State Sens. Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith and state Reps. Michele Rayner, Anna Eskamani, and Angie Nixon are the plaintiffs in the case. The five Democratic lawmakers attempted to enter the facility on July 3, but were denied entrance for what officials there claimed were “safety concerns” that the Democratic lawmakers say were never identified to them.
Their attempt to visit the facility came two days after President Donald Trump, Gov. DeSantis, and several other state Republican officials held a tour and roundtable discussion at the center with members of the media.
Officials with FDEM said earlier this week that state statute grants inspection authority only to legislative committees, “not to individual legislators engaging in political theater.” They also said that while Florida Statute 944.23 does authorize members of the Legislature to visit state correctional institutions, they have to be those under the jurisdiction of the Florida Department of Corrections.
“The Alligator Alcatraz facility is not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and does not otherwise fall within the statutory definition of a ‘state correctional institution,’” said FDEM spokesperson Stephanie Hartman, referring to the appellation given the facility by state leaders.
During the roundtable discussion on July 1 when the facility was opened to the media, Gov. DeSantis described the detention center as a “one-stop shop” with a runway that will allow the federal government to carry out deportation flights. The governor used a state of emergency declaration he issued in January 2023 to take over and begin the speedy construction on the land Miami-Dade County owns.
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The five Democrats allege in their lawsuit that under Florida Statutes 944.23 and 951.225, members of the Legislature are explicitly entitled to conduct unannounced visits to any state or local detention facility at their “pleasure.”
They also contend that DeSantis and Guthrie undermined the State Emergency Management Act under which the governor derives his emergency powers. They are seeking a writ to compel DeSantis and Guthrie “to provide immediate, unannounced access to the Petitioners to the Dade-Collier Training & Transition Airport site of the proclaimed ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention facility.”
The department announced on Wednesday that it will open the center for all state lawmakers and members of Congress this Saturday for a 90-minute visit.
Reports of poor conditions
The filing of the lawsuit followed news reports of poor conditions at the 3,000 person-capacity tent and trailer detention center. Multiple detainees told the Miami Herald and CBS News that they had gone days without showering, the toilets didn’t flush, and temperatures fluctuated between extremes.
“The rule of law must be upheld,” the lawsuit states.
“Our Constitution does not coronate a king. It is not hyperbolic to contend that the Governor’s actions, directly or indirectly through the actions of agency directors and their employees, could become more far reaching into the third branch of our government. Conjecture is not necessary at this moment because the distinctive and autonomous power of the legislative branch has and is being challenged by and through the executive branch. The blatant, illegal, and cavalier nature of violation of the Florida Constitution and statutory authority puts members of the legislative and judicial branches at risk if we, those sworn to protect and defend the Constitution and rule of law, do not speak out loudly and boldly against its trespasses and transgressors.”
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The lawsuit was filed by two Democratic members of the Florida House, attorneys Ashley Gantt and LaVon Bracy Davis. Along with Rep. Rayner, the three female Democratic lawmakers announced last month that they were forming their own law firm called BDGR P.A.
Two environmental groups, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, have already gone to federal court to sue the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), FDEM, and Miami-Dade County alleging construction of the detention center violates a federal law that requires environmental analysis of potential harms and that the public did not get an opportunity to comment.
The governor’s office responded late this afternoon to the filing of the lawsuit.
Yesterday, the Florida Division of Emergency Management invited all Florida legislators to tour Alligator Alcatraz this weekend. Today, five Democrat legislators responded by filing a frivolous lawsuit demanding access to Alligator Alcatraz,” said Sierra Dean, deputy press secretary for Gov. DeSantis. “The State is looking forward to quickly dispensing with this dumb lawsuit.”