Responding to a lawsuit filed by Democratic state lawmakers, attorneys for the DeSantis administration have argued the plaintiffs lack authority to make unannounced inspections of the immigrant-detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz.
The counsel for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the director of the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM), Kevin Guthrie, filed the response last month in the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County. The Democratic lawmaker-plaintiffs – Rep. Anna Eskamani of Orlando, Rep. Angela Nixon of Jacksonville, Rep. Michele Rayner of St. Petersburg, Sen. Carlos G. Smith of Orlando and Sen. Shevrin Jones of Miami Gardens – initially filed the petition with the state Supreme Court in July, but the high court transferred the case to Leon County.
The five lawmakers argued that they were denied entrance to the detention facility in South Florida last summer in violation of state law and provisions of the state constitution. The denial, if upheld, would lead to the erosion of powers granted to elected members of the legislative branch, they argue.
“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 … do not speak out loudly and boldly against its trespasses and transgressors,” the lawmakers’ petition filed with the Supreme Court states.
But DeSantis’ attorneys argue that the state statutes in question do not entitle individual lawmakers to enter Alligator Alcatraz unannounced. Instead, current state law authorizes only legislative committees – not individual lawmakers – to carry out investigations of correctional facilities, the state’s attorneys argue.
“The facility is not a ‘state correctional institution’ because it is not a ‘prison’ or ‘other correctional facility,’” the attorneys’ response states. “… Instead, Alligator Alcatraz is a short-term civil detention facility in which illegal aliens are held under the authority of the federal government and processed for deportation.”
The lawmakers are exaggerating their inspection powers, according to the response.
“Far from the governor or FDEM usurping the authority of another branch of government, it is petitioners who attempt to usurp the authority of the Legislature and its committees by taking matters into their own hands,” the response said.
In an email to the Florida Record, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Ashley Gantt, said she would address the state’s arguments in a future filing.
“We anticipated the state to say exactly what they said, denying the plaintiffs’ statutorily authorized access to the state-funded, -owned and -operated detention facility based on contradictory information,” Gantt said.
The plaintiffs remain optimistic their arguments will ultimately prevail in court, she added.
“… It’s apparent that the governor wants to use, spend and pilfer taxpayer dollars as if it is his own personal coffer of funds to trifle with,” Gantt said. “We vehemently reject that.”
The lawsuit emphasized constitutional and separation-of-powers issues in describing the autonomy of the legislative branch of state government.
“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 (the judiciary) of our government,” the lawsuit states.
