President Donald Trump issued one of the first presidential vetoes of his second term to nix the expansion and additional flooding protections of the Miccosukee territory after the tribe challenged his administration’s “Alligator Alcatraz” project.
Trump’s veto sent the bipartisan Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act back to Congress unsigned on Tuesday evening. The bill was led by Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) in the lower chamber and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) in the upper chamber. It would have expanded the Miccosukee territory to the Osceola Camp area of the Everglades National Park and protected the area from flooding.
“The previous administration developed a plan to protect and replace unauthorized infrastructure at the Osceola Camp, which could cost up to $14 million. But despite seeking funding and special treatment from the Federal Government, the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected,” Trump wrote in his veto statement.
Though Trump did not specifically name Alligator Alcatraz in his veto memo, the Miccosukee Tribe made headlines in July when it filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit against the alliterative Florida Everglades detention center for illegal immigrants. The tribe raised environmental concerns and argued that the facility could interfere with its community and resources.
“My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding projects for special interests, especially those that are unaligned with my Administration’s policy of removing violent criminal illegal aliens from the country,” Trump wrote.
Trump also wrote that the Osceola Camp area was “constructed in 1935, without authorization, in a low area that was raised with fill material.” He said none of the structures are old enough to qualify for the National Register of Historic Places and that “it is not the Federal Government’s responsibility to pay to fix problems in an area that the Tribe has never been authorized to occupy.”
The Miccosukee tribe has been one of several plaintiffs to challenge the construction of Alligator Alcatraz as the Trump administration continues to vouch for the Everglades immigration detention facility. Despite legal opposition from environmental groups and detained immigrants, the Trump administration scored a win in December as U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek struck down a detainee’s injunction request to close the facility.
“The facility’s proximity to the Tribe’s villages, sacred and ceremonial sites, traditional hunting grounds, and other lands protected by the Tribe raises significant concerns about environmental degradation and potential impacts to same caused by the construction and operation of a detention facility at the TNT Site,” counsel for the tribe wrote of Alligator Alcatraz in the July court document.
Gimenez, who championed the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act in the House, said in July on the House floor that the bill “ensures that the Miccosukee Tribe has the legal authority to manage, protect, and preserve their land — and continue their traditional way of life.”
“The Osceola Camp is not only home to tribal members, but it is also a site of historical and cultural importance,” Gimenez said. “Including this land in the reserved area will empower the Tribe to protect their community, manage water flow into Everglades National Park, and raise structures within the camp to prevent catastrophic flooding.”
Tuesday’s two vetoes were Trump’s first of his second term. He also vetoed the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, which would have completed a water pipeline in Colorado.
Neither Gimenez nor Scott responded to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment on the veto.