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(NEW YORK) — Known for the eponymous reptiles that inhabit the nearby swamps, the migrant detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” faces the possibility of being shut down over concerns about some of the area’s lesser-known inhabitants — the Everglades’ bats, panthers, and storks.

A federal judge on Wednesday is set to hold an evidentiary hearing over whether to block operations at the controversial facility because construction of the site allegedly bypassed federally required environmental impact studies.

The hearing — at which federal, state, and tribal officials are expected to testify — comes amid heightened scrutiny of the facility, which was once touted as a “one-stop shop to carry out President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.”

Immigrant advocates have alleged that detainees have endured inhumane conditions, including flooded facilities, spoiled food, and sweltering heat — and that they have limited access to their attorneys and are effectively housed in a jurisdictional “black hole.”

In a separate case challenging the legality of the facility, a federal judge ordered federal and state officials by Thursday to provide documentation showing which government or contractor is authorized to detain people at the sprawling complex. With state and federal officials dodging responsibility for the site, advocates have criticized the government for being vague about who runs the facility in order to bypass oversight.

While Wednesday’s hearing is limited to environmental issues — including impacts on the nearby Big Cypress National Preserve — the testimony is expected to shine a light on the operations of the facility and could result in a federal judge ordering the facility to be shut down until the required environmental impact studies are conducted.

“They have a lot of bodyguards and a lot of cops that are in the form of alligators. You don’t have to pay them so much,” Trump said last month when visiting the facility, adding that he’d like to see similar facilities constructed.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced a similar partnership — this time between the federal government and the state of Indiana — to construct a migrant detention facility dubbed the “Speedway Slammer.”

Located 50 miles west of Miami in the heart of the Florida Everglades, “Alligator Alcatraz” was quickly constructed over a matter of weeks, utilizing hundreds of tents, trailers, and other temporary facilities to potentially house more than 3,000 detainees. The facility was built on the grounds of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a sparsely used piece of tarmac owned by Miami-Dade County.

The site was initially conceived in the late 1960s as part of an ill-fated plan to build the “Everglades Jetport.” As President Richard Nixon ushered in an era of new environmental protections — including the law now being used to challenge Alligator Alcatraz — the plan to build the site was scuttled, and the remaining tarmac was later used as an aviation training site.

“Now, history is repeating itself as [plaintiffs] once again must act to prevent destructive development in the heart of the Everglades ecosystem in the same location,” the current lawsuit says.

The facility sits next to the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Big Cypress Area, ecologically sensitive and protected areas that house threatened species including the Everglade snail kite, Florida panther, wood stork, and Florida bonneted bat.

Alligator Alcatraz also neighbors land leased to the Miccosukee Indian Tribe, including villages, a school, traditional hunting areas, and sacred sites. The Miccosukee Tribe joined the lawsuit last month, arguing that the facility threatens to damage nearby tribal villages.

“The hasty transformation of the Site into a mass detention facility, which includes the installation of housing units, construction of sanitation and food services systems, industrial high-intensity lighting infrastructure, diesel power generators, substantial fill material altering the natural terrain, and provision of transportation logistics (including apparent planned use of the runway to receive and deport detainees) poses clear environmental impacts,” the lawsuit said.

The environmental groups and the tribe that brought the case allege that the sprawling facility was built without the federal or state government conducting an environmental impact statement, which is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) so the public and lawmakers can understand the impact of a project. They also argue that the government failed to get public input on the project.

The groups are asking U.S. District Judge Kathleen Mary Williams, an Obama appointee, to block ongoing operations at the facility until the government fully complies with NEPA and stop any ongoing construction.

Florida Department of Emergency Management executive director Kevin Guthrie, a named defendant in the lawsuit, has argued the facility is run by the state, which is not subject to NEPA regulations. He also claims that the site’s environmental impact is minimal because it was built on a location already serving as an active airfield.

The Department of Justice has also argued that the environmental groups cannot prove irreparable harm and that NEPA does not give a court the power to block the use of the facility.

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(APACHE COUNTY, Ariz.) — Four people were killed when a medical transport plane crashed and caught fire in Arizona, authorities said.

The Beechcraft 300 crashed Tuesday afternoon while landing at the Chinle Municipal Airport, in the Navajo Nation, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The aircraft was en route to pick up a patient from a nearby hospital at the time, according to the Navajo Police Department.

All four people on board the plane died, police said.

The cause of the crash is unknown at this time, police said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

The dual-propellor medical transport plane was owned by CSI Aviation, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, police said.

“This is a tragic loss to the families of those onboard and to medical air and first responder community,” the Navajo Police Department said in a statement.

All access to the airport is currently closed due to the investigation, police said.

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(SOLVANG, Calif.) — The Gifford Fire, a wildfire burning in Central California that has destroyed over 83,000 acres in five days, continues to rage and is now accompanied by two additional fires emerging nearby, according to officials.

Since it started on Friday afternoon, the Gifford Fire — which is situated within the Los Padres National Forest in Solvang, California — has burned 83,933 acres and has only reached 9% containment, prompting evacuation orders for those in the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, officials said.

While the flames have been centered around thick brush and rugged terrain, officials said over 800 structures are threatened by this wildfire.

Nearly 2,000 personnel have been dispatched to help fight the flames, with “great progress made on the west, north and east flanks of the fire” on Monday, according to Los Padres National Forest officials. Winds could potentially reach 20 mph on Tuesday, which could “test lines already constructed,” officials said.

Warmer weather on Thursday and Friday could increase the “fire behavior” and pose a threat to the already raging flames, officials said.

On Tuesday, officials said they will deploy helicopters to “deliver very significant water drops” and will establish two new base camps to allow personnel to “more efficiently access the fire perimeter.”

An air quality alert in Cuyama, California, and an air quality watch for the rest of Santa Barbara County continues to remain in place “until conditions improve,” according to the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District.

The fire is also impacting those outside of California, with smoke from the flames filtering into the Las Vegas Valley, “reducing visibility and air quality,” according to the National Weather Service Las Vegas.

Officials expect smoky conditions in the Las Vegas area “for at least another couple of days.”

Along with the Gifford Fire, firefighters are now also battling two additional flames in Central California that began on Monday — the Rosa Fire and the Gold Fire, according to Cal Fire.

The Rosa Fire, which is situated within Riverside County, has prompted evacuation orders and has destroyed 1,200 acres as of Tuesday, according to Cal Fire. The Gold Fire, which is located in San Bernardino County, is centered around “steep, rugged terrain in the northern area of the Mountaintop Ranger District” and has burned 348 acres, Cal Fire said.

As of Tuesday, the Rosa Fire is 5% contained and the Gold Fire is 0% contained, officials said.

The cause of all three fires remains under investigation, officials said.

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(JACKSON, Tenn.) — A manhunt for the suspect in the Tennessee killings of four people and the kidnapping of a baby ended Tuesday when he was taken into custody, police said.

Austin Robert Drummond, 28, was taken into custody in Jackson by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation after a weeklong manhunt, according to the Jackson, Tennessee, Police Department.

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement officials said Drummond was captured after multiple community residents spotted him and called 911.

“This is a perfect example of police and community cooperation,” David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Drummond, who had been considered armed and dangerous, is the prime suspect in the July 29 killings of 38-year-old Cortney Rose; Rose’s children, 20-year-old Adrianna Williams and 15-year-old Braydon Williams; and Adrianna Williams’ boyfriend, 21-year-old James “Michael” Wilson, according to authorities and family.

The victims were found along a road in Lake County, in northwest Tennessee, authorities said. The same day, Wilson and Williams’ baby was left in a car seat in a “random individual’s front yard” in nearby Dyer County, according to the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said Drummond knew the victims through his girlfriend, who was the daughter of Rose and sister of Adrianna and Braydon Williams.

A motive for the killings remain under investigation.

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement officials said Drummond was captured after multiple community residents spotted him in Jackson around 8 a.m. and called 911.

“This is a perfect example of police and community cooperation,” said David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Jackson Police Chief Thom Corley said residents spotted Drummond around 8 a.m. Tuesday near a vacant building investigators believe the suspect had been hiding in. He said officers rushed to the area as more 911 calls came in, including one at 8:57 a.m. that helped officers pinpoint Drummond’s location in the woods near the vacant building.

Corley said officers surrounded the area and took Drummond into custody at 9:05 a.m.

“Today we find some peace in knowing that the suspect is no longer a threat,” Corley said.

Corley introduced the three officers at the news conference who captured Drummond, saying, “They were at the right spot and acted immediately and apprehended Drummond.”

“It was really the community that really broke this for us,” Rausch said.

Rausch said Drummond was unarmed at the time of his arrest, but police have since recovered several firearms. Rausch said police will analyze the guns to determine if they were used in the homicides.

Drummond was captured in a wooded area of Jackson just a day after police released an image of him taken Sunday by a home security camera, police said.

At the time he was taken into custody, a reward of up to $30,000 was being offered for information leading to Drummond’s arrest.

Rausch said the reward money will likely be shared by those whose 911 calls led to Drummond’s capture.

Drummond is facing four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping, four counts of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

During the search for Drummond, police arrested four people accused of being accessories after the fact to the homicides.

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