Judge hears evidence about environmental concerns around Alligator Alcatraz

The Wednesday hearing opened at 9 a.m. with Judge Kathleen M. Williams presiding.

Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the Everglades and one of the parties who filed the lawsuit, said more than 40,000 people submitted on their website to oppose the detention center.

“We are very concerned about potential impacts of runoff,” as well as “large, new industrial-style lights that are visible from 15 miles away, even though having a dark sky designation,” Samples told the court.

“Driving out there myself many times, the increased traffic is visible, I saw two dead gators last time I visited, so definitely a difference in the area,” she added.

Environmental concerns aside, “Alligator Alcatraz” has been making headlines for an array of other alleged violations.

Detainees have allegedly been barred from meeting with their attorneys and are being held without charges, according to civil rights lawyers seeking a temporary restraining order against the facility.

The center has also raised human rights concerns with conditions described as horrific, including cage-like units full of mosquitoes, unsanitary conditions, and a lack of food and reliable medical treatment, according to legal advocates and relatives of immigrant detainees.

NBC Miami has also reported on detainees’ and family members’ allegations of “inhumane conditions”: limited access to showers, spoiled food, extreme heat and mosquito infestations.

“They have no sunlight. There’s no clock in there. They don’t even know what time of the day it is. They have no access to showers. They shower every other day or every four days,” a former corrections officer, identified in the NBC Miami report as Lindsey, said.

The state has denied these claims. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin rejected all allegations of inhumane conditions at “Alligator Alcatraz” and at immigration detention centers across the nation.

“All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority,” McLaughlin told NBC News last month.