We’ve seen this playbook before, but it never gets less infuriating. Just when President Trump’s administration makes real progress securing our border and dealing with the illegal immigration crisis that plagued America for years, along comes another activist judge to throw a wrench into the works.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams—an Obama appointee, naturally—issued a temporary restraining order Thursday to halt construction at Florida’s migrant detention facility, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The 14-day order stops all construction projects at the facility, including lighting, paving, excavation, and fencing, though it doesn’t affect current detainees.
Williams justified her decision by claiming environmental concerns, citing potential damage to “sensitive wetlands” and threats to “protected plants and animals.”
Can you hear my eyes rolling?
Let’s be crystal clear about what’s really happening here: This judge prioritized hypothetical environmental damage over actual border security and the safety of American citizens.
The facility, designed to hold up to 1,000 people in repurposed shipping containers, represents exactly the kind of decisive action Americans voted for when they elected Trump. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other immigration hardliners rightfully praised the facility as necessary infrastructure for removing dangerous illegal immigrants who committed additional crimes after entering our country illegally.
But environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe sued, claiming the project threatens wetlands and could “reverse billions of dollars’ worth of environmental restoration.”
Judge Williams ate it up, asking Florida attorney Jesse Panuccio if the state would voluntarily halt construction to avoid her restraining order. When Panuccio refused to make such a promise without a court order, Williams wielded her gavel like a club.
This represents massive judicial overreach, plain and simple. As immigration enforcement advocates correctly point out, this facility sits at the site of the former Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport—hardly pristine wilderness requiring federal protection. Yet Williams decided that theoretical environmental concerns outweigh the very real need to detain and process illegal immigrants who’ve broken our laws.
Critics have predictably seized on allegations about conditions at the facility, claiming detainees face substandard living arrangements. A former employee alleged problems with food quality, sanitation, overcrowding, and harsh punishment practices. These complaints follow the standard progressive playbook: portray enforcement facilities as concentration camps while ignoring the fact that these individuals chose to break immigration law.
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Civil rights groups filed additional lawsuits alleging that the facility violates detainees’ rights by restricting attorney access and holding people without charges. This demonstrates the coordinated legal assault President Trump faces every time he does the job we elected him to do.
This represents yet another example of how liberal judges weaponize environmental laws to obstruct conservative immigration enforcement. They hide behind procedural concerns and regulatory technicalities to prevent Trump from implementing policies voters explicitly endorsed.
Make no mistake about it, the left is upset that President Trump’s border policies have virtually stopped illegal immigration into America, and they’re trying to stop Trump from sending back those already here. Yet judges like Williams continue undermining Trump’s successes through judicial activism.
Americans deserve better than courts that prioritize environmental virtue signaling over border security. This restraining order represents everything wrong with our current judicial system: unelected judges imposing their political preferences over democratically elected officials implementing voter-mandated policies.
Enough is enough. When activist judges use fake excuses to undermine our border security, America pays the price. PJ Media exposes the truth the mainstream media hides—judicial overreach is undermining the border protections we desperately need. Join PJ Media VIP for exclusive content, ad-free browsing, and real reporting. Use promo code FIGHT for 60% off. Don’t wait—stand with us and defend America’s borders today.
